Bishopbriggs High School - my view

Morrisons new plan for the Bishopbriggs High School Site

2011-12-16T10:17:00.001Z

Click to see large version

Here's an animation of the scale of Morrisons development overlaid over the old view of Bishopbriggs High School and the demolished sports hall.

Plus an image of the rough plan.

Site Value Dropped? Bishopbriggs High School site value goes from £11.52 million to £7.75 million...

2010-11-07T22:47:00.001Z

The item on the Council minutes for the 30 June 2010 regarding the above excludes the public as noted below:

EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

It is recommended that the Council pass the following Resolution:-
“That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, as amended, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they may involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1, 8, 9 & 11 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act”.
….. 8524 16 Disposal of Former Bishopbriggs High School Site – Report by Director of Development & Infrastructure. (Copy herewith) 65-70

Our interpretation of the above is that East Dunbartonshire Council anticipated at one time making a capital receipt of £11.52m from this site, but that estimate has had to be revised downwards to £7.75m.

Read the full post here on the Cleddens Residents Blog

No action to be taken over Bishopbriggs sport hall demolition without permission

2010-09-10T06:59:00.001+01:00

Morgan Sindall, the company responsible for the Bishopbriggs High School demolition site, will have no action taken against them after it emerged they demolished the £800,000 sport hall with a warrant. The old school was left standing while the controversial, seven-year-old hall, was first to be demolished.

The information was sent to the Procurator Fiscal and they decided to take no further action.

Are we surprised?

You try knocking down anything without permission and see what happens...

Read the story and see the pictures on the Kirkintilloch Herald website...

Disgrace as Bishopbriggs Sports Hall demolisted without permission - The hall cost almost £1m just seven years ago!

2010-05-05T22:40:00.005+01:00

As reported in the local press, the Sports hall, built only seven years ago at a cost of almost £1m, has been demolished. The hall, in the grounds of former Bishopbriggs High School, appears to have been demolished without the proper permission by Morgan Ashurst. Permission is now being processed through the council.

As anyone who has read this blog will know I stated the intentions of the council to allow the hall to be demolished to make way for a new development in the grounds of the old high school.

The council rejected public consultation to build the new school on the grounds of the High School. At the time the council was under the control of the Liberal Democrats but almost all of the councilors lost their sets in the last local election.

Bishopbriggs Sports hall facing demolition - again!

2009-08-27T07:20:00.003+01:00

CONFUSION surrounds the fate of an £800k sports hall in Bishopbriggs.

Muse Developments submitted an outline planning application in May to transform Bishopbriggs town centre as part of a £32million project.

The proposals included the option to keep the former Bishopbriggs Academy sports hall after residents opposed to it being knocked down.

A campaign group was asked to come up with a business plan to run the hall as a community facility.

Read the full story here on the Kirkintilloch Herald website.

Source: Kirkintilloch Herald

Bishopbriggs housing plans on school land put on hold

2009-06-11T23:02:00.002+01:00

PLANS to build 50 new homes on the site of a bus terminus have been put on hold to allow councillors to visit the location.Developers MacTaggart and Mickel want to create 10 town houses and 40 flats on surplus land at the former Thomas Muir High School, in Bishopbriggs.

However, several residents have objected to the proposals because the development would be built on a bus terminus, as well as concerns over the increase in traffic and noise they fear it would create.

The plans went before the council's planning board last week and were recommended to be granted, subject to a list of conditions, one being that an alternative bus terminus is provided in the area prior to work starting on the development.
Following a site visit, the plans will go before the next planning board on June 30.

Meanwhile, plans to build 32 new homes on a derelict site have been continued, for the second time, to a planning board meeting later this month.

Hallam Land Management Ltd want to create 32 new homes - including at least 40 per cent affordable housing - on a site adjacent to Kirkintilloch Road, in Bishopbriggs.
However, the application has been recommended for refusal because of concerns over access.
The application has been continued to allow for talks to try and find a soloution to the issue with access.

Source: Kirkintilloch Herald

Locals near the building site of the new Bishopbriggs Academy claim construction staff are ignoring planning conditions by working on bank holidays.

2009-06-04T23:43:00.002+01:00

FED-UP residents have been forced to keep the windows closed on bank holidays.

Donald Macdonald, chairman of Woodhill Residents' Group, said: "Over two years ago, the residents' group, along with local school boards, Torr Road residents and Bishopbriggs Community Council, took part in a planning hearing involving all 24 councillors.

"We were told that the 46 conditions applied to the site would protect our local amenities and properties.

"What we have since discovered is that no one in East Dunbartonshire Council is prepared to enforce any conditions that will inconvenience the builders."

Read the full story on the Kirkintilloch Herald site here...

School buildings a ‘scandal’ claims expert

2009-06-02T09:21:00.001+01:00

From today's Herald...

A high proportion of new school buildings in Scotland are of completely unacceptable quality and being thrown up with no regard for the future needs of education, one of the architects of the current curriculum review is set to warn.

Keir Bloomer sat on the group which wrote A Curriculum for Excellence and was chief executive of Clackmannanshire Council for seven years. He is to speak at a conference in Glasgow next week, when he will warn that school buildings too often reflect a society that places little value on children and young people.

The event is part of the Future Scotland Debates series and takes place at the Scottish Parliament on June 10.

Read the full story here on the Herald website...

Town Centre Plans - first image flats and Care Home...

2009-03-08T23:35:00.004Z

Click image to enlargeCheck out this picture of the plans on display at the Bishopbriggs Library.

You can see the plans include three storey flats, sorry 'townhouses' on South Crosshill road. Five storey flats behind the new Morrisons.

Now look at the size of the care home.

Bishopbriggs High School £800,000 Sports Hall to be demolished just years after completion...

2009-03-04T09:08:00.004Z

The Bishopbriggs High School (Academy) Sports Hall is coming down.

Just years after it was hailed as a great addition to community, now the council plan to demolish - it cost the tax payers almost £1 million to build.

As the comment on the last post said " So much for helping our children's level of fitness or providing activities other than hanging about the streets".

From Jo Swinson's website...

"Sports hall demolition would be a ridiculous waste"

In a survey of Bishopbriggs residents released by Jo in 2008, 93% of respondents said they would like to retain the existing sports hall. (the majority also want to keep the school on the High School site)

The building, said "We have not managed to find a viable use for the sports hall." (How about a Sports Hall?)

Jo says "it shows either an amazing lack of creativity or total disregard for the views of local people"

Members of the public will be invited to an exhibition at Bishopbriggs Library on 6th from 10am-2pm and 7th March from 10am-1pm to offer their feedback on this and other proposals for the development of the town centre.

Read her full post here...

PPP deal councils axe school pitches

2009-03-02T18:44:00.001Z

School sports pitches have been sacrificed by one-third of Scottish councils undertaking building programmes financed by controversial public private partnerships, The Herald can reveal today.

Official figures from SportScotland, the national sports development agency, show 10 of the country's 30 authorities that have used PPP projects to improve their school estate between 1996 and 2008 now have fewer playing fields.

Read the full post on The Herald's website here...

Public to see plans for Bishopbriggs Town Centre

2009-02-28T19:32:00.002Z

New Bishopbriggs Town Centre Plans...

A Public exhibition will take place on Friday 6 March between 10am-2pm and on Saturday 7 March between 10am-1pm in Bishopbriggs Library.

Builder pulls out of plans to build homes on Bishopbriggs High School site..

2009-02-02T08:45:00.003Z

Plans for the Bishopbriggs High Schools site suffered a blow when Mactaggart and Mickel withdrew their application to build 154 homes on the high school site.

East Dunbartornshire Council are waiting to see the new 'masterplan' for the whole site as requested by the council. Fears of local residents that the sports hall, built with £1 million of public funds, may not survive the plan.

Read the rest of this blog to find out the history of the Council's decision to go against public consultation and move the school to the site of Turnbull High on the outskirts of Bishopbriggs...

Delay fears over Bishopbriggs Academy build...

2009-01-08T10:53:00.001Z

Parents and pupils in East Dunbartonshire face serious disruption this year after a huge private sector project to build six new secondary schools has been hit by delays.

SNP MSP Gil Paterson claims the completion of the major private finance project could be delayed by several months and could also end up with losses to the public purse because of possible compensation wrangles.

The council admits that there is a problem but says suggestions that delays could run into several months are simply speculation on the part of the MSP.
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Mr Paterson claims that Bearsden Academy, Douglas Academy, Kirkintilloch High, Bishopbriggs Academy, St Ninian's High and Turnbull High will not be ready on their scheduled dates this year of between April and summer and that they could be up to six months late. He is concerned about disruption for pupils, particularly for those who are sitting Standard Grades and Highers should the schools be completed late.

Read full Herald story here...

Bishopbriggs Academy second bottom of East Dunbartonshire schools

2008-12-12T09:01:00.007Z

In a comprehensive guide to Scottish schools performance, in today's Herald, Bishopbriggs Academy is second from bottom of the East Dunbartonshire table.

Only Kirkintilloch had poorer results.

Bishopbriggs Academy is the product of the amalgamation of Bishopbriggs High School and Thomas Muir High School. Read the rest of this blog then decide if this amalgamation was for the benefit of pupils or the council...

To determine the Herald "league tables", they took the benchmark figures used by employers and universities – the percentage of pupils passing five or more Highers at grades A to C by the end of S5.

On the BBC website the 2002 results are below.

Bishopbriggs High School are second top of this table - Thomas Muir is second bottom.

Check all the results on the Herald website here...

The sinister truth about what they do with our children's fingerprints - Daily Mail

2008-08-11T23:39:00.007+01:00

From the Daily Mail here...

They point out that no other country in Europe routinely fingerprints children and that even communist China has abandoned plans for fingerprinting school pupils because it breaches human rights.

They quote the Minister for Schools and Learning, Jim Knight, who this summer admitted that the police can simply help themselves to the children's fingerprints if they are trying to solve a crime.

As one IT security consultant in Britain, Brian Drury, said recently: "If a child has never touched a fingerprint scanner, there is zero probability of being incorrectly investigated for a crime.

"Once a child has touched a scanner they will be at the mercy of the algorithm [stored in the school computer] for the rest of their lives."

More on the Leave Them Kids Alone website...

Read what the BBC have to say....

How to fool school fingerprint scanners with household items...

2008-08-11T23:33:00.004+01:00

Fake finger fools fingerprint reader...

Moulding plastic, jelly, milk and tea are all the ingredients that Dialogue Box needed to get past one biometric security device.

View the video here at ZDnet...

Council to fingerprint Bishopbriggs Academy schoolchildren

2008-08-11T09:08:00.006+01:00

More than 8000 pupils are to have their fingerprints taken so they can be tracked by teachers.

The scheme is to be introduced in all eight secondary schools across East Dunbartonshire, including Bishopbriggs Academy.

Similar systems already installed in schools in England cost up to £20,000 per school.

From the register

As many as 200,000 primary and high school children from the age of seven have already been finger printed. Supplier Micro Librarian Systems estimates that its technology, which is similar to identification systems used in US prisons and by the German military, is in use by 350 schools throughout the country.

More here...

The Sunday Mail

Milngavie Herald

No Profit in PFI changes warning

2008-02-03T11:42:00.001Z

Carillion warns Scotland over PFI changes

Construction giant Carillion has warned Scotland against pressing ahead with plans to replace the traditional private finance initiative with a non-profit making model.

Robin Herzberg, managing director of Carillion’s private finance division, told the construction press that the new approach “doesn’t sound very attractive”.

The proposals as they stand would not interest a profit-making firm like Carillion, he said.

Longer term, Scotland’s ruling Scottish Nationalist Party wants to ditch PFI in favour of the Scottish Futures Trust, a non-profit making company that would funnel private investment into state projects.

From: Public Private Finance

Government slammed on schools

2008-02-02T12:19:00.000Z

Latest view on PPP schools...

The Scottish Government's school building plans have come under fire, with Labour branding their absence of clear spending plans an "outrage".
The Tories claimed that the SNP administration's plans to replace PPP with a Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) have so far resulted in "confusion and uncertainty".

MSPs were debating the issue in Parliament after the Nationalists had pledged to match existing school building programmes "brick for brick" going into last year's election.

But Labour's shadow education secretary Rhona Brankin, herself a former teacher, said that the party had built or refurbished 328 schools during its eight years in power with the Liberal Democrats.

She said: "We have heard nothing, not one brass farthing has the SNP said they are going to spend on school building programmes and that's frankly an outrage."

Source: Midlothian Advertiser

Hidden £65m PPP Schools bill

2007-09-23T23:18:00.000+01:00

Surprise, Surprise...

Ministers claim they have inherited a hidden £65m liability for privately-financed school projects that the previous Labour-LibDem administration failed to budget for in full.

...by 2010-11 will be £165m as the true cost of the exponential rise in the value contracts has become clear.

These were only £17m last year but leapt to £48m this year before reaching £137m next year and a total of £165m by the final year of this parliament, all for projects that have already been built, are under construction, or have been approved.

Never mind, just think of the money the council will get from selling the Bishopbriggs High School site plus the 'surplus' land at Thomas Muir and Turnbull.

Parents meeting for Bishopbriggs Academy

2007-09-14T13:30:00.000+01:00

Forthcoming meeting on Monday 17th September at 7.45pm where parents can get an update about the latest plans for Bishopbriggs Academy from the council's PPP team.

Bishopbriggs High Site

2007-09-12T08:45:00.000+01:00

This site is not suitable for a school!

Jo Swinson and the Lib-Dems are asking the people of Bishopbriggs what they would like on the Bishopbriggs High School site.

None of the options include a school - exactly what the people agreed to the first time the Lib-Dems asked!

What's the point if their opinion is to be ignored as previous?

PPP deals cost Scots £22bn

2007-08-28T08:36:00.000+01:00

Scots will have to pay a "phenomenal" £22.3bn over the next four decades to fund all the Public Private Partnership projects across the country - around £4500 for every Scot.

New figures released by the Scottish Executive have revealed the true cost of the 102 contracts for the privately built schools, prisons and hospitals which, in some cases, will be privately run.

The PPP statistics highlight the legacy of taxpayer debt the new SNP executive has inherited from the previous administration.

Professor Allyson Pollock, head of the Centre for International Public Health Policy at Edinburgh University, said: "This is a phenomenal amount of debt being incurred and stored up, not only for this generation but for future generations too. Others have noted the ways in which we are mortgaging our children's futures.

"The high costs of PFI squeezes expenditure on public services spending. In health, there is very good research evidence of the ways in which PFI drains money from public services and as a result services are cut and closed to pay the PFI charges and profits of the banks and shareholders."

A spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party said: "When you break it down it is good value for money."

From The herald

SNP promised platform extension at Bishopbriggs

2007-05-18T14:40:00.000+01:00

In April the Evening Times report this SNP promise...

£300m promise on rail network

The SNP's National Rail Improvement Plan are proposals for platform extensions at Queen Street and Bishopbriggs to allow increased capacity

Read the story in the Evening Times

Single Transferable Voting...

2007-05-10T11:47:00.000+01:00

Here's how STV works...

Two of the three LibDems were placed fourth (only three members per ward elected) in the 1st preference votes and they secured seats.

On the Council website they have published the 1st preference votes for each candidate.

Vaughan Moody, (1094) polled over TWO HUNDRED LESS 1st votes than Majinder Shergill (1305) and still secured a seat.

Duncan Cumming, (981) polled over ONE HUNDRED LESS 1st votes than Ali Syed (1082) and still secured a seat.

The results are here

Democracy in action.

LibDem take a beating...

2007-05-06T11:17:00.000+01:00

The LibDems, who voted for the 'cheaper option', for Bishopbriggs Academy have been wiped off the face of the new council at East Dunbartonshire.

They could ignore the public when it came to consultation but they couldn't when it came to voting for their job.

East Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrates on May 4th 2007

John Morrison (Council Leader) - Gone
Margaret McNaughton - Gone
Gordon Macdonald - Gone
Fiona Risk - Gone
Pat Steel (provost) - Gone
Julia Southcott - Gone
Robert Duncan - Gone
Fiona Callison - Gone
Cathy McInnes - Gone
Eric Gotts - Survived
Duncan Cummings - Survived
Vaughan Moody - Survived

Of the Twelve LibDem councillors only three survived the rest were wiped out by the voters.

Cathy McInnes who came fifth out of six candidates for the Strathkelvin and Bearsden seat took a double beating.

The results can be found here Strathkelvin and Bearsden

And the council results here

Jo Swinson - take note

Kirky Herald Lib Dems Binned

Bats at St Ninian's

2007-04-19T22:50:00.000+01:00

I understand that St Ninian's cannot be demolished as bats have been found.

Will this delay the Academy - only time will tell....

We get what we deserve...

2007-04-10T23:36:00.000+01:00

The people of Bishopbriggs will get what they deserve after the elections in May.

Legislation states that when two schools amalgamate an election for a new school board should take place as soon as possible.

Almost NINE MONTHS later we are still waiting.

It also states that each candidate should produce UP TO 250 words presenting their case. Yet Ken Low produces more and that is accepted.

Read this site and then decide if these people are representing your interests....

I will not be updating it in the future - you get what you deserve....

Prisoners treated better than our children?

2007-03-11T21:54:00.000Z

Dr Gordon Low wrote a letter to the Bishopbriggs Herald highlighting the way the Council have treated our children compared to how prisoners at Low Moss prison are treated.

During last year's public inquiry into the proposed new prison at Low Moss, Scottish Prison Service (SPS) were at pains to stress the urgency of building prisons to meet the rising prisoner population.
So it's a bit surprising now to find that they can manage quite happily for the next two years with one fewer prison. (Bishopbriggs Herald, 28th February)
But then, the SPS would tell us that they're seeking to accommodate twice the number of inmates in a state-of-the-art complex, complete with its own dedicated sports facilities and requiring the flexibility afforded by the utilisation of the whole available site.
So presumably the site has to be cleared before building work can begin, as trying to construct the new prison round the existing buildings would hopelessly compromise the design.
And of course, the SPS would probably consider it unreasonable to expect prisoners to have to live in a building site for two years.
Fair enough, perhaps. Yet it does seem just a bit ironic that the latter approach is exactly the construction methodology being employed by East Dunbartonshire Council to accommodate twice the school role at the new Bishopbriggs Academy, and with exactly the consequences the SPS are avoiding at Low Moss.
And that's before the council sells off part of the school site to the developers.
It wouldn't be good enough for the prisoners (and who would argue the point?) but apparently it's good enough for our school pupils.

Schools project to be sold off?

2007-03-11T17:01:00.000Z

Schools contracts may be up for grabs in Amec sell-off.

It could be the first of many sell off by chief executive Samir Brikho, the Swedish-Lebanese businessman who runs the company.

Samir may sell businesses involved in building and facilities services and focus the company on core areas such as oil and gas, minerals and metals mining and the nuclear and wind energy industries.

He added that plans were already in place for significant cost savings.

Read the full story here in The Sunday Herald

Maybe they think the SNP will win in May...

SNP will build new schools but not for profit!

2007-03-10T14:50:00.000Z

The SNP have said they are committed to building new schools in East Dunbartonshire but not under PPP.

The SNP would use a NOT for profit trust scheme, where benefits are ploughed back into education rather that being paid out to contractors.

Where as the Liberal Democrats are committed to selling land and paying developers to run the schools for years to come.

PPP has already been in the news when running costs have soared in several projects.

The Labour party had said the SNP would not built the schools but this has been denied by SNP candidate Dr Robin Easton.

Council leader John Morrison said it was insulting to the public to say that PPP was anything but a success...

That would be the same public who's advice the Liberal Democrats chose to ignore then Mr Morrison?

School Board hang on by their teeth...

2007-03-08T22:38:00.000Z

The School amalgamated in August 2006 the School Board act states that election for a new board should commence at that time.

NINE MONTHS later we could have that School Board. But they remain - backed by the council, who should have instigated the change, laid down in legislation - but they didn't. You can only ask yourself why after you've read this site.

Check the school web site for the 'latest' :-) information...

Completed ballot papers should be returned in the envelope provided, to the Head Teacher by 3.00pm on 23rd April, 2007.

Website

No minutes have been posted.....

You can download the Parental Involvement letter here

Just keeping you informed.

Teachers can't find jobs...

2007-03-08T16:00:00.000Z

Interesting artical from the Herald.

Some of the comments blame PPP projects for building smaller schools to hold more pupils (where have I heard that before).

Councils saving money on Education to finance their pet projects?

Intresting reading...

Glasgow plan to invest millions on new sports pitches

2007-03-08T15:58:00.000Z

Looks like Glasgow have the right idea - unlike the councilors of East Dunbartonshire. they prefer to sell off land for private homes taking land from education use.

A massive £25million could be spent over the next seven years providing hundreds of new and upgraded sports pitches across Glasgow.

Selling pitches and investing the money in better ones.

Some red blaes pitches will be sold off to developers, with some of the cash being re-invested in high quality pitches in areas of greatest need.

Read the full story in The Evening Times

Lack of outdoor sports facilities

2007-03-02T09:30:00.000Z

Anyone listen to Roger Black on Radio 4?

He's trying to get children fit at school and he's shocked by the lack of outdoor facilities at schools.

The excuse is the lack of space and land available.

What do East Dunbartonshire do?

They have the land for these facilities but in almost every school site in the project they chose to sell part of that land off for financial gain.

You can listen here.

Executive to decide on planning application

2007-02-27T23:08:00.000Z

Holyrood will have final say on school plan Evening Times

MINISTERS are to rule on a controversial plan to build houses next to a new school.

A planning application by housing firm Amec for houses next to Bishopbriggs Academy has been referred to the Scottish Executive.

Bishopbriggs High and Thomas Muir High are merging as part of a £100million PPP plan to build six secondaries in East Dunbartonshire.

Bishopbriggs Academy will be built on the site of the former Thomas Muir High school in Wester Cleddens Road, Woodhill.

But campaigners have voiced concerns over the loss of green space adjoining the site which, they say, should be for sports facilities instead of housing.

However, East Dunbartonshire council leader John Morrison said: "The new Bishopbriggs Academy will have better sports facilities than ever before."

Nice one John - there never has been a Bishopbriggs Academy so how can it "have better sports facilities than ever before?"

No matter how you 'spin it' the land, that is already used for schools, would be better continuing to be used for the new school. But then that wouldn't make MONEY - would it!

Let's see how the figures add up when this PPP project is over.

Time to do to the Liberal Democrats what they have done to Bishopbriggs High School and the children of Bishopbriggs

Site available as a Widget...

2007-02-20T08:29:00.000Z

This site can now be downloaded as a Widget...

Keep up-to-date direct on your desktop, customise the look and information.

This free widget is available from Widgetbox

The number of viewers continue to rise and other sites have started to link here - thanks to everyone for their support.

Comment from and old pupil

2007-02-18T18:23:00.000Z

Just found your blog and it's amazing.

I lived in the briggs and went to the High school and found the information here totally awesome!

Why are the parents letting this happen?

The new head and the council are like pals and the school move is a lib dem doing!

If Mr Waddell was in charge then this would not happen - maybe that's why the dumped him!

None are so blind as those that cannot see - selling off land and placing the school on the only land that was left as they use the old Thomas Muir for St Ninian's - are you people stupid?

The council then grant planning with loads of condition! Try to get an extension with one thing wrong and see the difference.

As for the school Board - were they appointed by the council? Looks like it to me. The co-chair works for them - how bad is that?

Great blog keep it up. I now live in the US but love my roots.

I cannot believe how stupid the people of Bishopbriggs are to let this happen under their noses.

Thanks James and power to your elbow.

Join the torchlight vigil

2007-02-18T09:36:00.000Z

MSP Jean Turner is expected to attend the final torchlight vigil opposing plans to sell the so-called 'surplus' land at the still to be built Bishopbriggs Academy.

The following night Councillors will meet to decide the OUTLINE planning application for this land.

The vigil will start at 7 pm and last for around 20 minutes, on Wester Cleddens Road beside St Helen's PS.

Donald Macdonald
Chair
Woodhill Residents Group

Where were the Interim School Board?

2007-02-18T09:15:00.000Z

Probably the most important meeting with regard to the new Bishopbriggs Academy took place in Tom Johnston House.

Where were the Interim School Board?

Only one member of the Board, Ken Low, attended and only to speak ON BEHALF of the developers.

As for the other members... Your guess is as good as mine - they were NOT at the meeting.

Over fifty members of the public did attend the council planning meeting.

It was important to them - was it important to the school board?

Councillors who want severance pay

2007-02-17T23:51:00.000Z

Here is a list of East Dunbartonshire councillors who have applied for severance pay...

Robert Duncan - Castlehill and Thorn - Liberal Democrat
Edward McGaughrin - Hillhead and Broomhill - Labour
Tom Smith - Woodhill West - Labour
Julia Southcott - Bearsden - Liberal Democrat
Pat Steel - Baljaffrey and Mosshead - Liberal Democrat (Provost)

From the list here

Join the fight to stop the sale of land.

2007-02-17T12:44:00.000Z

From this Wednesday's Evening Times (page 19)

100 residents protest at the sell of the, so called, 'surplus' land at the Thomas Muir site. A bigger school on a smaller site that has over forty conditions before the work can start.

You can see the report here (copyright Newsquest 2007)

Ex- Celtic players Tommy Gallagher and Charlie Gallagher back fight to stop housing plan at school site.

It seems crazy to sell off school land and then to share a pitch

Join the school board... more information here

East Dunbartonshire officers are not fit for purpose?

2007-02-09T08:53:00.000Z

Liberal Democrat supporter Alastair McPhee puts the question:

I am becoming extremely exasperated by the decisions that our Councillors have taken regarding the major changes in Bishopbriggs. Can they do a John Reid and argue that the East Dunbartonshire officers are not fit for purpose or are is it just that our team are consistently picking the wrong option?

This is in response to the Evening Times article (below) you can read his comments here

More from this blog...

FibDems Scottish Liberal Democrats - you can't trust them This is the proof!

"Lib Dem donor jailed for dishonesty" Read it here

Oh No Jo.... Again Read it here

Bus giant supports parents in school row

2007-02-08T13:52:00.000Z

BUS giant First has joined forces with a group of parents fighting a decision to sell off school land as part of a closure plan.

Councillors have given the go-ahead to a controversial site for the new Bishopbriggs Academy on the outskirts of the town, despite huge concerns raised by parents.

© Newsquest 2007

The new school is to go on the site of the former Thomas Muir High School in Wester Cleddens Road, Woodhill.

But campaigners say some children will be forced to walk too far to get to the new school.

More from Evening Times

"Best value for the public purse" - John Morrison

2007-02-07T08:22:00.000Z

From a report in this weeks Bishopbriggs Herald

Residents shook their heads in disgust and told some councillors to be 'ashamed of themselves', following the marathon meeting at Tom Johnston House last Wednesday evening.

Councillor Charles Kennedy proposed that a decision be held over for a month to take residents' views into consideration, but his amendment was kicked-out by 16 votes to seven.

Donald MacDonald said, "Setting the meeting up as a public hearing was no more than window dressing from the council to try and appease residents."

So what did the council leader, John Morrison have to say?

"The planning board has approved plans for a school that represent best value for the public purse."

"We have seized a once in a generation opportunity for the young people of East Dunbartonshire. They deserve no less."

Read the article here

Ask yourself this - If you had submitted plans to the council that required 46 conditions - just to be heard. Would YOU have been given approval? FOURTY SIX CONDITIONS - conditions that included the safety of children with the submission of a 'late' 'incomplete' travel plan?

Who's interests did the council have at heart? - the education of your children in the best possible school? Or the developers in a rush to get the project started by 'shoehorning' the building into a 'smaller' site on the 'only' space left while the old school was in 'use'. Then 'bolt on' sport facilities from local primary schools and selling off so called 'surplus' land.

Did they make their decisions on 'education' grounds? Or was it, as John Morrison said, best value for the public purse. The same purse that has just spent millions on a recycling shambles!

Morrison's Baby

2007-02-06T22:58:00.000Z

The directors cut...

Or you can view it here

Write to your councillor or MSP

2007-02-06T11:24:00.000Z

You can use this site to write to your councillors or MSPs regarding this issue (or anything else that concerns them)

Use this link - Write to them

Stand for the Academy School Board

2007-02-06T08:43:00.000Z

Elections will be held this March for a new Academy Board. All parents/guardians are entitled to stand.

Please ask your children to collect an application form from the school. It has to be completed and returned before the deadline of 3pm, Thursday March 1st.

Any parent/guardian can become a board member and it is worthwhile, you will be asked to attend meetings that help make decisions on your children's education.

Six vacancies exist and unless more than six parents apply NO elections will be held and those that apply will automatically become members.

HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE NEW ACADEMY AND THE EDUCATION OF YOUR CHILDREN - APPLY NOW.

The head teacher is NOT a member of the board, but should attend the meeting and make presentations to the board.

School PPP scheme a ‘catastrophe’ for pupils

2007-02-05T08:55:00.000Z

Leading architect Malcolm Fraser has resigned from a Scottish Executive advisory panel over concerns that schools built using private finance could be damaging children.

Read the article here in the Sunday Herald

Sign the petition to save the "surplus' land

2007-02-03T11:53:00.000Z

Please sign the Woodhill Residents petition to try and stop the developers selling the 'surplus' land on the Thomas Muir site.

Remember the promise that the Thomas Muir site was larger, Square etc.

Now it looks like the new school, that has to accommodate TWICE the number of pupils than the present school, will be built on a smaller site.

The promised sports improvement will have to be shared.

Read more here

If you want the children of Bishopbriggs to have the best school possible then sign the petition.

Stop the land sale and force the council and developers to use this land for education, as it is now.

You can sign here it only takes a minute.

Petition:
We the undersigned object to the idea of land being sold on the Thomas Muir Site, while pupils are forced to use nearby school playing fields, there is inadequate drop off facilities and the school may be built too close to the Torr Road houses.

Petition organised by Donald MacDonald

Bats are more important than your childrens safety

2007-02-01T08:09:00.000Z

If bats are found on or around the site of the new Bishopbriggs Academy then developers CANNOT proceed until their future has been addressed.

Yet - a travel plan, that the council admit, does NOT meet requirements is NOT a matter that they decided could delay the new school.

Council leader, John Morrison, admitted that he had not, in his long history of sitting on the planning board, seen a submission that had so many conditions attached due to the inadequacies of the original plans.

Yet - he was happy to approve it!

It will now go to for approval to the Scottish Executive, objectors can put their case to them to reject this 'flawed' submission - last night approved by the Liberal Democrat run East Dunbartonshire Council.

Approved after six hour meeting

2007-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

The building will go ahead, despite various concerns, that the council agreed with!

Including the admission that the school travel plan submitted was a shambles!

Councillor Morrison and his Lib Dem colleagues had no hesitation but to vote for approval despite the amendment proposal of a two week delay for the developers to submit updated plans.

Done deal...

Compromise - Bishopbriggs Academy and the PPP

2007-01-28T10:45:00.000Z

The Academy was moved from it's intended site in the town centre on the promise of a better school not restricted by the site problems at the High School site.
Better sports provision and an improved design.
All the pupils would be moved to the High School and the site at Thomas Muir cleared with a new super school built.
No, site restrictions at Thomas Muir!

Lots of prime land at the High School site - just no good for a school - if you believe the Lib Dems

What has happened...

All our children are 'shoehorned' into Bishopbriggs High (1300 pupils) the school was built for less than a 1000.

Meanwhile the existing Thomas Muir School, that should have been demolished, is now being used by another school while they have a brand new school built on their 'cleared' site.

The promised sports provision is being 'shoehorned' onto the 'smaller site' plus 'bolted on' from two neighbouring Primary Schools (one across a main road).

The design of the school has to be 'shoehorned' into the only space left while the existing school is being used.

Amazingly, with all this known, the developers still believe there is 'surplus' land to be sold for profit at the Thomas Muir site.

The prime Bishopbriggs High School site will make them millions and Turnbull High will provide even more 'surplus' land to add to the windfall.

Ask yourself, if this is what the people of Bishopbriggs were sold when the Council decide to move the school for 'better educational' reasons.

Ask yourself, if the Interim School Board have keep you informed (their duty) of what has happened and taken 'your' advice?

Ask yourself, when May comes. you can then decide if this Council, who represent you, have done a good job!

Ask yourself, when the election for the new Academy School Board, that should have taken place in August 2006, if you want this board to continue.

Decide if I was wrong to tell you, from the start, that Bishopbriggs have compromised during a project where Bishopbriggs is the ONLY area to LOSE a school.

Comments welcome...

Public hearing this Wednesday

2007-01-27T11:20:00.000Z

The Public Hearing will take place on Wednesday 31st January 2007 at 5.30 pm in the Council Chambers, Tom Johnston House, Kirkintilloch.

I understand that Bishopbriggs Academy hearing will start around 7pm (Bearsden will be heard first).

All welcome.

Interim School Board MISS deadline for planning objection.

2007-01-24T09:32:00.000Z

The Interim School Board missed the deadline for planning objections to the new Academy!

They will now speak IN FAVOUR of the developers plan!

Would it be safe to say that InspirED were so impressed with their OBJECTIONS that they asked them to speak in favour of their plan - now that's inspired!

This is the ONLY way they will be allowed to speak at next weeks meeting.

Next weeks Public Hearing will take place on Wednesday 31st January at 5.30 pm in the Council Chambers, Tom Johnston House, Kirkintilloch.

I have read their representation - did they not see the latest updates to the planning application before it was written?

The proposed 'parents' parking bays on Angus Avenue have already been proposed. The entrance has already been moved further along Wester Cleddens road (before the plan has been approved).

Possibly the most important meeting since the councils decision to move the school - have the Interim School board informed parents of this meeting? Have you seen a copy of their representation? The Interim Board speak on YOUR behalf.

Why do we still have an Interim School Board almost SIX months after they should have been replaced and one month after a vote to elect a new board?

Could it be that they support the council and the council are reluctant to replace them?

Academy makes Herald Diary...

2007-01-23T08:24:00.000Z

Ken Smith has commented on the unpopular decision to build the Academy on Thomas Muir site.

Just saying what the voters think?

Academic argument
AND so some people pass into folklore. A meeting to discuss the unpopular decision by the council to site the new Bishopbriggs Academy on a less accessible site than the current Bishopbriggs High heard one complainer argue: "The only way the new school could be less popular would be if you made Jade Goody the new janitor."

See it here Herald

The shape of schools to come?

2007-01-22T09:03:00.000Z

Interesting story on school design from the BBC...

Passing a large volume of children through a narrow opening like a corridor or stairwell is bound to create friction and problems, he says.

All the major incidents of children being injured or stabbed in schools have occurred in corridors, he claims.

The new Bishopbriggs Academy corridors are narrow - a 'one way' system is being considered.

This means schools of the future have to be large-scale open spaces

So planners have to understand what the education of the future will be like to prevent them designing something that will soon become outdated.

The planners are working within the constraints of building while the old school, this should have been demolished. It is being used by the council during construction to accommodate St Ninians from another town. A new St Ninians is being built on their site AFTER their school is knocked down to provide a clear site. The public of Bishopbriggs were never given a choice in this.

more from BBC

also from the BBC...

Many new-built schools 'mediocre'

Half of a sample of 52 secondary schools built in England in the last five years were at best "mediocre", government design advisers say.

Five councillors set to quit?

2007-01-20T13:53:00.000Z

It is understood that five councillors are set to leave before May's election.

Each could receive a tax-free golden handshake of up to £70,000

Other councils have named those standing down but Liberal Democrate run East Dunbarton has refused to name names.
John Morrison Lib Dem leader said "it's no secret" but did not say who the councillors were.

Two Labour councillors, Tom Smith and Edward McGaughrin have already said they are standing down.

In another move 'Scottish hockey' have backed 'SportScotland' in their concerns over the East Dunbartonshire schools PPP project.

With local elections in May some councillors could choose to take the money rather take the risk of being voted out.

Public hearing dates and times

2007-01-18T23:06:00.000Z

The pre-hearing will take place on Tuesday 23rd January 2007 at 6.30 pm in the 'Big Eat' Canteen, Tom Johnston House, Kirkintilloch.

This pre-hearing is to inform the Public of the procedures for conduct of the Hearing.

The Public Hearing will take place on Wednesday 31st January 2007 at 5.30 pm in the Council Chambers, Tom Johnston House, Kirkintilloch.

It is not a forum to introduce new arguments.

Talks planned on new school sites

2007-01-18T23:04:00.000Z

PEOPLE will soon get the chance to have their say on plans for two new secondary schools in East Dunbartonshire.

Public hearings will be held within weeks over proposed new sites for Bishopbriggs Academy and Bearsden Academy.

It follows a planning meeting this week at which councillors gave the go-ahead for a fourth school to be built under the £100m public private partnership scheme.

The council committee has now given full planning permission to four of the schools in the rebuilding programme, Kirkintilloch High, St Ninian's High, Turnbull High, and Douglas Academy.

Site visits and public hearings will now be held regarding the two remaining schools.

More from Evening Times

Jo Swinson to walk to school

2007-01-18T11:21:00.000Z

Liberal Democrat MP, Jo Swinson has been invited to 'walk to school'.

A parent from Hilton Road asked Jo to join her and find out the issues children from this area of Bishopbriggs will have walking to the New Academy.

Jo has agreed, it is hoped this will take place tomorrow, January 19th.

With snow lying on the ground today this will be a good indication of how the weather will effect the journey.

Hilton Road is a lot closer to the new Academy than some other areas of Bishopbriggs that children will have to walk from.

I will report the outcome of the walk as soon as I hear.

Drains at Thomas Muir site

2007-01-17T12:58:00.000Z

This information has been sent to the site...

The planning application for the Academy claims that there is no history of flooding at the Academy site. This is patently untrue as both of the schools have had to have large stone filled drains installed recently to deal with run off surface water. Even this has not completely resolved this problem as this photograph shows.

Comment...

I looks like this is at an entrance gate.

Planning decision

2007-01-16T19:14:00.000Z

At tonight's meeting of the Council planning committee, a decision over the planning application for Bishopbriggs Academy was deferred pending a site visit and public hearing.

It is hoped that this can be carried out on the same day (still to be confirmed).

Councillor Morrison constantly refereed to the planning had to be completed "quickly".

Another meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 31st January at 5.30pm and Tuesday 6th February.

Accident at Woodhill Primary

2007-01-16T12:08:00.000Z

Reports have been sent to me regarding an incident ON the campus at Woodhill Primary this morning.

My information is that a child fell and hit his head on parked car's tow bar while in the school grounds. A paramedic was first to attend the call followed by an ambulance. The child was taken to Yorkhill Hospital and has since been released.

This issue will be raised at several meetings over the following days.

Woodhill Primary is next door to the proposed site of the new Bishopbriggs Academy.

Sports facilities

2007-01-15T08:19:00.000Z

We would all like to see more sports facilities but there is a limit to what local authorities can do with the land and resources available
Sandy McGarvey

Yes, especially when you decide to sell off large sections of land that is already zoned for education...

Quote of the year!

Full story in today's Herald

For anyone who has been privilege to read the planning report (I have). They would have noticed the section on the areas around the pitch being less than the recommended safety areas.

The developers stated...

their is insufficient space to provide full run-offs etc.

If they checked their plans again, the pitch sides run parallel to the 'surplus' land. The safety area could easily be achieved if this land was used for education not gain.

If the planning is approved, as is, the safety of pupils would be compromised to achieve better receipts for land sale.

SportScotland publish guidelines

2007-01-15T08:10:00.000Z

SportScotland has published a guide to sports provision in Scotland's Schools.

They are concerned at the loss of so many pitches particularly with PPP projects.

The Bishopbriggs Academy DOES NOT meet their recommendations for sports pitch provision.

Here is the Herald story

And how the Scotsman covered it

SportScotland guide lines

Planning board meeting

2007-01-14T17:58:00.000Z

Dear James

Can I ask you to remind your readers of the details of the Planning Board meeting which will be held in Tom Johnston House this coming Tuesday 16th January.

"It is important that Councillors are made aware of the interest across Bishopbriggs in the details of this planning application. The school will be with us for the next 30 years so it is vital that the correct decisions are made by councillors on that night."

The meeting starts at 5 pm.

"The fight for a school that Bishopbriggs can be proud of for the next 30 years is coming to a conclusion. We owe it to our children and their children to say we fought for the best possible school - not just the cheapest option."

Their futures depend on us. See you there.

Donald Macdonald

yours

Donald Macdonald
Chair
Woodhill Residents Group

Scotland is building more shopping centres than ever … but are there enough shops to fill them?

2007-01-14T12:38:00.000Z

SCOTLAND IS poised for a retail development boom with more than 1.5 million square feet of new shopping space scheduled to open during 2007, according to newly compiled figures.

The flood of space combined with troubled times on the high street, however, has left somepropertyagentswonderingif there will be enough retailers on the expansion trail to fillout all the corridors. Compiled by realestateconsultants Colliers CRE, the numbers only include major schemes and not the individual shops, smaller supermarkets and retail parks popping up around the country.

More from Sunday Herald

And Bishopbriggs looks like adding another.

But then Churchill Way was demolished as it failed!

Other shop units are standing empty in the town centre.

Kirkintilloch Shopping Centre is struggling.

Only time will tell

Change of Entrance

2007-01-12T11:50:00.000Z

I have created these graphics to show the change of entrance at the Academy, Thomas Muir site.

Option 1: Entrance opposite Pentland Drive.

Option 2: Entrance moved left nearer 'Surplus' land.

Revised plan for Academy site

2007-01-12T09:23:00.000Z

The Woodhill Residents Group have submitted a revised plan for the siting of the new Academy.

You can view the document contents here

And a site plan is available on their home page here

The plan involves moving the school North and using the 'surplus' land to accommodate the traffic management.

The council planning meeting will take place next week.

Lack of consultation - rejected consultation

2007-01-11T10:45:00.000Z

Prime land that will be lost from educational use in Bishopbriggs

Bearsden are unhappy with PPP schools project but Bishopbriggs has lost a school and an entire site to development!

From a letter in The Herald newspaper...

Part of the problem with this PPP project has been the lack of proper consultation. Mr Anderson states that the council's PPP team has worked with its building partner but makes no mention of working with local groups.

From a public perspective, it appears that a veil of secrecy has been drawn over these proposals and that all reasonable observations are brushed aside as irrelevant or too late to be considered.

And this statement...

East Dunbartonshire states that it is committed to community planning. To quote from its own document, community planning is "most importantly, about ensuring that local people are able to influence the decisions of the organisations that provide their services".

This has, and is, clearly NOT happening.

Comment sent

David Anderson, East Dunbartonshire Council's Corporate Director - Community, may feel that the sports field provision in the PPP project for Bearsden Academy is adequate, however residents and parents in Bishopbriggs are not so relaxed.

The new Academy in Bishopbriggs was moved from the 'constrained' site near the town centre, to the outskirts in Woodhill. Here we were told there was much more space. Space that would allow greater provision of sports fields.

Now that detailed plans for the school have become available it is clear that this extra space is being sold off for housing and the extra playing fields will be laid on land currently used by the two nearest primary schools. While any improvement in the facilities of either primary school is to be welcomed, it is clear that parents and residents were misled when we were told that the Woodhill site for the Academy would bring with it significant educational benefits such as greater sports field provision.

Perhaps when councillors meet next week to either approve or reject the planning application for the school, they will ask why land on the site is being sold off while pupils are being asked to cross a fast main road to use an undersized primary school playing field.

SportScotland 'not happy' at schools facilities...

2007-01-08T09:22:00.000Z

From today's 'Herald' newspaper

SportScotland have expressed concerns over the sports facilities East Dunbarton Council have proposed in their PPP schools project.

Particular reference is made to the sale of 'surplus' land when this could be used for sport facilities (see earlier posts).

This is exactly what is happening on the Thomas Muir site were they are now being asked to share sports facilities with TWO neighbouring primary schools.

Read the article for yourself here in the Herald

Apples and Oranges?

2007-01-03T23:01:00.000Z

The Transport Assessment is available on the council web site under planning. It also has an updated map (Sketch) of the changed access on Wester Cleddens Road (as posted earlier on the site).

Can you see anything wrong with the Site Location Plan (below) that compares the Bishopbriggs High School site and the Thomas Muir site? Why has the entire site at Thomas Muir been highlighted but only the school at Bishopbriggs High?
Surly not to make one site look larger than the other!

Reproduced under the terms of Faber Maunsell "INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY" as published on their web site.

The plan indicates that Accident data has been requested from East Dunbartonshire Council but has NOT been provided.
(Page15 3.8)

Another interesting point was the bus journeys to school taken by pupils of Bishopbriggs High School and Thomas Muir before amalgamation.

Bishopbriggs High 5% (around 50 pupils) used the bus to get to school
Thomas Muir High 35% (around 200 pupils) used the bus to get to school

Thomas Muir had only 480 pupils (same report) my maths make 200 pupils around 42% not 35% or almost half.
Does that show it's more difficult to access this site?

The plan also agrees that Bishopbriggs Railway Station is now outside the Scottish Executive guidelines - that the acceptable walking distance for rail stations to a place of education or place of employment is 800m. Therefore, rail travel is not considered a viable transport mode for pupils or staff of Bishopbriggs Academy.

Not the case if the High School site had been agreed as public consultation wished.

Amazingly on page 20 the another map indicates bus stops and shelters. One of the stops is marked on the bus terminus which may not exist as it's part of the 'surplus' land the developers want to sell!

East Dunbartonshire Council policy on dealing with traffic impacts of new development is
provided in their memo of 18 January 2005 provided in Appendix B.

Under traffic impact...

During the time of writing, utilities works in Bishopbriggs Town Centre on Kirkintilloch Road
have been underway and this will have a significant impact on the traffic patterns within
Bishopbriggs as a whole. Therefore, it has not been possible to obtain any meaningful survey
data in the vicinity of the Thomas Muir site and no historic data was available either.

Importantly, the roads memo states...

“The implication of the above is that traffic capacity issues should not be used as a reason for refusing a planning application which the Planning Service is minded to grant….”

Two access options are proposed - as far as I am aware - no decision has been made on planning approval for the new school. I am also aware that work has started to create an access point indicated on one of the options.

Has the work has started before approval.

Worryingly on page 38

7.6.3.5 Rail Measures
Milngavie rail station is 1.6km walk from the school is above the maximum walking threshold
figure of 800m specified by the Scottish executive.

"Milngavie rail station" Same plan used for different schools or what?

Happy New Year

2007

Travel Plan

2006-12-30T23:52:00.000Z

This comment has been left by a reader...

I've read the 50 odd page travel plan on the council site re the survey that was completed in October - all the bus routes mentioned come in and out of this terminus.

Also the Council reckon only 74 children will be disadvantaged by the move to TM. The bus routes they quote almost all come in and out of GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL areas- not East Dunbartonshire.

They dismiss Meadowburn and Balmuidy in one sentence and Kenmure in two, in a whole report of 50 pages! Guess it's just tough if you live in Meadowburn.

It looks like the school is going to be used in future by people from Glasgow area. so much for EDC council taxpayers!

I don't think the Council are building a school to benefit Glasgow - they have stopped almost all secondary placing requests.

As I said at the meeting...

"I wonder if the plan will be carried out after the pupils have ALL moved to the High School site and the Thomas Muir site is unoccupied?"

That's exactly what happened, in October - possibly in the school holidays.

Still undecided if this decision was made for the 'educational' benefit of the children?

2007 here we come...

Janitor's houses

2006-12-28T11:22:00.000Z

If you have read other posts on this site you would remember the council saying that the janitor's house on the Bishopbriggs High School site restricted their building plot. There was no money available to purchase it.

Same with the child care centre on the same site.

© Google Earth

Several months on we're expected to forget that, as they decide a valuable strip of land at Thomas Muir is 'surplus' and should be sold off for housing.

© Google Earth

Wait a minute, doesn't that land include a Janitor's house, they don't own, and a bus terminus?

Surly they can't find money to buy them out when they had none for the same purpose at the Bishopbriggs High site?

Not content with gaining the entire site at Bishopbriggs High they want to claw back land from Turnbull and Thomas Muir.

The will be building the biggest school ever in Bishopbriggs on what remains of the Thomas Muir site. This will require having to share sports facilities with surrounding primaries.

Use of old Bishopbriggs High site

2006-12-28T11:04:00.000Z

Lots of prime land at the High School site - just no good for a school - if you believe the Lib Dems

Let's hope the Council can make a success of developing the land they acquired when they closed Bishopbriggs High School.

I have lived here all my life and the town centre has changed. Churchill Way was built and had several great shops - that didn't survive and is now retirement flats. Cross Court was built and housed the Post Office - now shuffled up to a sub post office in a card shop! Several units are still empty in the present town centre.

Here's a list of the shop that I can remember having opened, then closed in Bishopbriggs.

Now the Council have decided to move 1,200 pupils and support staff from the town centre area.

This alone will remove a large income source from several of the remaining businesses.

Anyone considering investing in 'another' new town centre should do their homework - find out why the above businesses opened and closed. Check out what's happening in Kirkintilloch.

What's left in Bishopbriggs?

Cafes, Restaurants, Charity Shops, Pubs, Betting shops, Travel Agents, Banks and one supermarket.

There should be a fantastic new school - but read this site to find out how the Liberal Democrats stopped that happening...

Look back over the last year

2006-12-27T16:38:00.000Z

It's this time of year when people look back...

This time last year we had the prospect of a super new school on the location the public wanted.

But things changed when the developers suggested the new school should be built on the Thomas Muir site.

Here's what they both said in an East Dunbartonshire Council communication "Staff guidance note".

Just a small change...

Both bidders have tabled an alternative solution... this may involve changes to the site, timing, decant arrangements or design of the new school.

Remember this vital sentence...

We are unable to show you the plans for the variant... considered commercially confidential whilst the bidders are competing.

So both builders suggested , independently, an alternative proposal to build on a different plot that would change decant arrangements etc. What reasons did each give?

Below are the reason from Bidder A variant scenario...

and the reason given by Bidder B variant scenario...

Again both independent, rival bidders, scenarios.

Can you spot the difference?

Here's some clues - most letters are the same, most words are the same, they're in the same order. In fact they are almost identical.

Another amazing coincidence, no doubt!

And why could you not see the alternate plans?

We are unable to show you the plans for the variant at this stage as they have not been developed beyond a sketch site layout to prove the site has adequate land to support a new school.

You can now! The 'variant' school - at the planning office. A school proposed by the preferred bidder, it was almost identical to the school proposed on the High School site, and rejected by the Council. Could that have been the reason you were not allowed to see it?

After all, you could see the other designs, by both developers, at that time, not confidential then.

You never did see the new proposal, well not until after the Council had decided to accept it.

The public were NOT consulted - I understand this is a requirement under the Scottish Office rules on PPP.

P.S. The Interim School Board never saw the variant design - but they did agree to the Council decision - before they made it!

Access to sport facilities

2006-12-26T20:14:00.000Z

When it was pointed out to the Council that the High School site could use the pitch at the Lees (see 'shared sports facilities pitch 4' post), the Council said closing the Edinburgh to Glasgow line was NOT an option. This would allow a bridge or tunnel to be used for access to the pitch area - it could be done anytime over the next two years. Under the present arrangement the pitches on the Thomas Muir site will NOT be ready when the new Academy building is occupied.

This week Scot Rail have closed the main line over Christmas and New Year - yes, the main Glasgow to Edinburgh rail line. If the Council had agreed to the use of pitch 4, this option would NOT have caused any further delay to any rail service.

Yet another excuse that has proved unfounded....

More from Evening Times

New Academy School badge

2006-12-24T13:18:00.000Z

Does it look familiar?

Here's the Bishopbriggs Community Council badge...

Community Council Badge

Merry Christmas

2006-12-23T10:02:00.000Z

Have a great one Bishopbriggs...

Plans lodged for Bishopbriggs town centre

2006-12-21T19:11:00.000Z

The developers have lodged plans for the area including the old Bishopbriggs High School, Triangle Centre, St. Matthew's Church and Bishopbriggs Library (the old school).

If you're looking for it online here's a hint...
You won't find under 'Applications of Particular Interest' - wonder why?

The plans are TP/ED/06/1320 you cannot view them online as I write this.

Let's hope it's more successful that Churchill Way (now demolished) or Cross Court (empty units). With a number of outlets lying empty already in Bishopbriggs is their a great need for another shopping centre? We only have to look as far as Kirkintilloch to see what has happen to their centre!

The developers now have the entire Bishopbriggs High School site and land they decided was 'surplus' on both the Thomas Muir site, where the new school will have to share sports facilities with adjacent primaries.

Quote from Council 'Consulative Document' - The Thomas Muir site...
"They consider that this in turn will offer the Council improved educational facilities in the new school, particularly playing fields.

Having survived the bombings during the Second World War it took a single council meeting on 26th June to close the school.

Slowly, slowly...

2006-12-18T23:56:00.000Z

I see that after last week's meeting at Bishopbriggs Academy where I pointed out the school has had a web site since August.

The web site has been updated to include the 'Interim' board members. No longer just Kenneth Low as parent member of the, non existent, Bishopbriggs Academy board (see post below).

No contact details or minutes have been updated....

Unfortunately the council web site, list of schools, doesn't include Bishopbriggs Academy.

This screen capture (below) was taken on 18th December as shown on the top left.

Slowly, slowly....

Click for larger image

The Secondary 5 and 6 modern studies homework links need updating - they expired on 15/10/2006.

More soon...

Work started?

2006-12-18T17:11:00.000Z

Work has started on a new entrance to the Thomas Muir site from Wester Cleddens Road.

No planning permission for the building of the new school has been passed as far as I am aware.

The current access is on the 'surplus' land.

What does that suggest?

View plan here on the council website

As you can see from the plans submitted to the council - site access should be opposite the existing Pentland Drive.

The School access remains as exists.

Strange the entrance has moved....

Number One on Google

2006-12-14T17:11:00.000Z

Type 'Bishopbriggs Academy' into Google, the world largest search engine, and this site is No1.

Maybe that's because people learn more about what's going on at the academy here than from the Interim Board or the Council?

A big thank you to all the visitors who care about what happens in Bishopbriggs.

Google are no fools!

Shared sports facilities...

2006-12-13T13:08:00.000Z

The council now want to share sports facilities at the new Academy.

One of the reasons they put forward 'against' the High School site was it's lack of sports facilities.

Consultative Document 2006
3.0 REASON FOR THE PROPOSAL
3.1 The consortia....
...They consider that this in turn will offer the Council improved educational facilities in the new school, particularly playing fields.

Take a look at how the two sites match up...

First the Thomas Muir site - cross Wester Cleddens road to share St Helen's facility also share the small sports facility at Woodhill Primary (now included in the councils site area).

Also indicated is the 'Surplus' land designated by the developers.

Click here for a larger version

Here's the same view of the Bishopbriggs High site and it's surrounding facilities.

I didn't bother indicating the 'surplus' land as the entire site is 'surplus'.

A reader has contacted me to ask why the Allan Glens area is included. Quite simply that was an option the council used when the Academy was to be built on the High School site while the High School was still in use. Yes, that was an option - sadly rejected by East Dunbartonshire Council.

Click here for a larger image.

It was suggested, at last night's meeting, by John Simmons, Head of Education, that the High School site was NOT worth more that the Thomas Muir site. I'll let you consider that comment.

In this third view you can see that a Pitch the same size as Pitch 2 can be fitted onto the 'surplus' land and a turning circle could also be accommodated. This may be a safer option.

This would also free up land where the present turning circle is located - directly in front of the school.

Summary of first Academy meeting with the Parent Forum

2006-12-13T11:54:00.000Z

For all those unable to attend last night's meeting.

The low turnout could have been due to the very short notice period, bad weather, middle of the Christmas season or a number of other reasons.

The meeting started with a motion on the legality of the boards position to negotiate with the council. This was noted and the meeting continued.

In the first public meeting in the five months since the amalgamation Ken Low went over the plans for the new Academy. The same plans that have, and are, available at the council offices, online and displayed at the school last month.

The original 14 days time scale to lodge objects, which has gone, is now available again due to the traffic assessment being lodged this week with planning. This plan is available to view at the council offices. As far as I am aware nobody, at the meeting, had seen this traffic plan.

The position of the school, on the site, was questioned and it was asked if this had been a compromise as the old Thomas Muir School had to remain for the pupils of a Kirkintilloch School. It was noted that to achieve the time scale the developers plan required this situation.

Access to the school was debated and parents were not happy with the present plan. This may have been addressed in the 'unseen' traffic plan.

To counter suggestions about the 'surplus land' the council have suggested that another 'shared' outdoor sports facility with St Helens (across Wester Cleddens Road) be considered. This would give the school TWO 'shared' facilities with neighbouring primary schools. The first being the pitch the council now count as part of the Thomas Muir site, the Woodhill Primary pitch.

On the internal layout of the school the width of corridors was raised. It was suggested that a 'one way' system may have to be implemented for pupils to move around the school.

These discussions took up the bulk of the meeting, which last over two and a half hours, during which time several people left. This left little time for discussion on why the Board had not held election for a new Academy board five months ago as laid out in the legislation.

One member of the School Forum questioned the lack of information given to parent by the board since the amalgamation, a requirement under the School Board Scotland Act. Ken responded that the board considered that this information should come from the head teacher. More information has been available on this site than has come for the School Board or Council.

I suggested they use the, councils, Bishopbriggs Academy web space. It has been available since August, to keep parents informed, nobody was aware it existed. At the time of the meeting it shows Ken Low as a parent member of the Bishopbriggs Academy board (see screen shot below). This position is an elected office, I don't remember the election - do you?

Eventually a vote was held, and the motion (below) carried, by the majority of parents in attendance, this requires the council to hold elections for a new Bishopbriggs Academy Board, with immediate effect.

The meeting then closed.

If anyone has anything to add please use the comment option below.

Motion carried from meeting 12th December 2006

2006-12-12T22:09:00.000Z

I would therefore move that the interim Board continue to negotiate on behalf of the parent body of Bishopbriggs Academy whilst the election process for a new School Board For Bishopbriggs Academy is put into operation and I would call for the Authority to call said election with immediate effect.

Boot out the board....

2006-12-10T17:22:00.000Z

This comment was sent by a reader...

The letter detailing the 'disadvantages' of holding an election for the School Board makes interesting reading....if you support lawbreaking and dictatorship that is.

One disadvantage is that for the Academy Board to continue would mean that they are breaking the law.
I’m not sure that they are setting a very good example to pupils?

Costly? The PPP team have been posting out regular newsletters, four pages and in colour. The council has found the money for this so why not for giving parents a lawful and democratic say in the running of their school. After all they pay for the school through their taxes.

If not them – who? Sandy McGarvey? John Morrison? Margaret McNaughton?

Could take up to 12 weeks to complete? This is only a problem because the Board are doing this now rather than 12 weeks ago.

Places an administrative burden on the school? Well sorry I don't think that ‘it’s too much hassle to hold an election’ is a good reason not to hold an election. Updating the electoral register...shouldn't that be a pre-requisite for the school to know who the pupils’ parents are?

Postage costs? Well the interim Board saved a lot of money by not canvassing parents’ opinions in the lead up to the decision where the school should be built, so the school really owes them one. And was the school not being given extra resources because of the amalgamation...I seem to remember Sandy McGarvey saying that, wish I had got that in writing I suppose.

Finally and I quote...'Research shows parental involvement is not encouraged by elections’. This is being said by the people who presumably put themselves forward for election to get on the High School and Thomas Muir Boards. With low turnouts at election time not even Tony Blair would give that as a reason for stopping holding elections….maybe Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe should be looking to the Academy Board for some fresh ideas!

(You might have noticed that there is nowhere on the ballot paper for the voter to put their name to ensure that only parents with children at the school vote and that those who vote do so only once. This brings to mind the old saying about elections in Northern Ireland, ‘vote early and vote often’. Not that I’d condone parents photocopying the ballot papers and handing in lots of votes for their chosen option during the Christmas holidays.)

And what about the ‘Advantages’ of just keeping things the same until next year? It would minimise disruption to the education and welfare of pupils. How can this possibly be true? The election process does not involve pupils. Communication is via the post and how can an election affect pupils Health and Happiness? No the real advantage of this option is that it allows for continuity. But how much of an advantage this is, is open to question.

The current Board have never communicated with parents at any point in the amalgamation process.
They have never sought the views of parents regarding their preference for where the school should be built and now that the PPP team is turning them over they suddenly come running to the parents looking for help.

They deserve to be booted out. At Tuesday’s meeting, assuming enough people turn up, given the short notice and the enticement of hearing about ‘minor’ problems with the school design, parents need to stand up and be counted. We have the prospect of a great new school (albeit one where children will be in danger of being run over leaving school at 3.30 pm)…now we need a Board that can match the aspirations of the school…something the current Board are clearly unable to do.

Strong stuff

thanks for your opinion

How many letters?

2006-12-10T13:02:00.001Z

Did you get one letter or two from the Interim School Board?

I only got one, the one without the contact details and election slip!

I know two were sent out as this site has received copies of both letters.

Saying no more....

Letter from Ken Low acting chair of Academy School Board?

2006-12-07T14:19:00.000Z

I have taken the liberty of letting you know what happened at the Bishopbriggs Academy Board meeting on Tuesday night re the PPP planning application.

Basically we said to Sandy McGarvey:

There was no transport statement - how could we assess traffic impacts etc. without it?

The sports full-size pitch provision for
Douglas (roll of 1,021) is 4
Bearsden (1,174) is 3
Kirkintilloch (652) is 3
Bishopbriggs (1,146) is 2

- absolutely not was our core message over this;

It also turns out one of the documents supporting pitch provision is for the first proposal of basing the school at BBHS site and selling off TMHS site completely - not even planning had picked this up;

Education (through John Simmons) insist that the PE curriculum can be delivered - our SMT say that delivery will be extremely tight and almost impossible if we lost the use of the shared area with Woodhill Primary

We want them to investigate the land opposite us to see if we can purchase/lease a strip to put a new pitch on it

We also want to move the all weather pitch up to allow us to slightly lengthen the existing natural turf pitch and to move the athletics facilities onto the grass nearer Torr Road - at the moment the long-jump is on asphalt - surely this cannot be safe (in Douglas and Bearsden the long jump is surrounded by grass)

Overall car parking spaces etc. Bishopbriggs Academy is being short-changed e.g. the Games Hall is 594m2 (33m x 18m) whereas in Douglas it is 628m2 (34 x 18.5m) - I am not too fussed about a metre either side but when the Bishopbriggs High School Games Hall was built it was either (1.4m or 4m) short with the result non of the indoor pitches met the required standards for competition so EDC spent £1 million on a hall that could not take national competitions in football, badminton etc. What a waste and I don't want that repeated again

Many of the facilities are close to the minimum standard required and the SportScotland representative stated that they would challenge councils to provide better facilities - we did however accept that the quality of the facilities were better

Sandy has been tasked with maximising the facilities but also to maximise land receipts re Council meeting of June 2006 (well if two pitches can deliver the PE curriculum then he simply is failing in his second objective with regard to Douglas, Bearsden and Kirkintilloch - he should reduce them to two large pitches and increase the land receipts on these sites but he has not done that) - we as a Board don't want that to happen to any of these sites - we should maximise the facilities on all sites and we realise that both Douglas and Bearsden have already had a net loss of one pitch due to housing development however I don't think Sandy sees us as only having two pitches as a problem and

Fnally to fundamentally disagree that any of the land at the TMHS site was surplus (we are losing a 37m x 18m small rugby pitch (7-a-side pitch) and two Multi Use Games Areas although the shared arrangement would give us back the small pitch on a shared basis).

The meeting went on from 6.30 pm for Board members only and from 7 pm for invited participant and did not close until 10.30 pm

It was at times heated but we hope we presented a balanced but forceful case.

The next steps are to:

Prepare a response to Sandy McGarvey

Meet with associated primary school board chairs (or their whole boards and PTAs if they want)

Meet with Bishopbriggs parents on the 12th December at 7 pm in Bishopbriggs Academy

Start drafting our representation to the planning department with respect to
a) the school and
b) the surplus land outline application for housing

To prepare a media campaign to keep this in the public eye over the festive season right up to the planning application hearing and to meet with councillors over this to give them our views directly.

I am supplying this information to keep primary school board chairs appraised of what is happening and to the PPP reps of Douglas, Bearsden and Kirkintilloch secondaries as we had compared Bishopbriggs Academy to these school in our presentation.

We already appreciate the help we have had from other secondary PPP reps.

We fully support all of these schools in their efforts to get better facilities for their kids in their areas - we just want to be treated equitably by EDC in terms of sports provision.

I am grateful to Susan Murray for her attendance and input - at times what she said was very telling and was not lost on Sandy McGarvey.

I would also say that we would welcome your support if possible and we will be happy to answer any queries or questions by e-mail or phone.

Thanks.

Ken Low Acting Chair Bishopbriggs Academy School Board

I have written to Ken asking who the new Academy board members are and when they were elected. The Interim School Board has, since August, time to arrange elections.

Did anyone get an information on the Bishopbriggs Academy School Board elections?

Here is how a School Board should be elected School Board Act

I spoke to the Scottish Executive this afternoon, Ken has NO right to call himself acting chair of the Bishopbriggs Academy Board.

Good to see that Ken visited the site on the 8th of December at 4.05 pm.

The power of the Internet....

Interim School Board meeting...

2006-12-04T13:55:00.000Z

There's another meeting of the Interim School Board tomorrow night (5th December) when I understand a letter to parents regarding the new Parents Councils will be discussed.

If that's true then we have progress. The letter to the council, that was used by them to indicate support for their decision - before it was made, was never shown to the board before it was sent.

FROM SEPTEMBER 12th, 2006 'ALL' PARENTS, WITH A CHILD AT THE SCHOOL, HAVE BEEN MEMBERS OF THE PARENTS FORUM FOR BISHOPBRIGGS ACADEMY.

The Interim School Board should have been replaced in August under the current School Boards (Scotland) Act 1988 when a new board for the Academy should have been elected.

This information is from the Scottish Executive in a letter sent to me last week.

Academy web site

2006-12-04T13:27:00.000Z

As I mentioned in my post in August, Bishopbriggs academy has a new web site.

I know it's not listed on the council web site under secondary schools but it does exist...

And it lives here.

It's being updated as you will find views of the new school here

Pictures of the huts on the High School site here.

And all about the school board and minutes of the meetings here except it's blank!

As is the contact information - the site is run by an English company e4schools in Peterborough.

Be aware that the council privacy statement includes

Information Automatically Logged

We may use your IP address to gather broad demographic information

Still waiting...

2006-11-30T10:09:00.000Z

From 12th September it has been the duty of East Dunbartonshire Education authority to promote the setting up of Parent Councils, all education authorities must provide parents with the opportunity to discuss and decide on arrangement for their school.

This new legislation places the arrangements for parent representation in the hands of parents, as members of the Parent Forum.

From 12th September, ALL parents with a child at a local authority school AUTOMATICALLY became a member of the Parent Forum for their school.

Have the Education authority informed you of this situation?

HMI report on Bishopbriggs High

2006-11-30T09:51:00.000Z

On 21st of November the HMI published their 'follow up' report on Bishopbriggs High.

This report is available here
Download Follow Up Report Published 21/11/2006

Including under section 3.6 this sentence...

However, several parents and staff felt that they had received too little information about the amalgamation of
the two schools and proposals for the new building.

Thomas Muir High has not been reported on since 1998.

New school plans cause concern

2006-11-29T16:28:00.000Z

CONCERNS over plans for two new high schools in Bishopbriggs have been raised with the council.

More here Bishopbriggs Herald

Let's hope someone listens

See attached comment...

With the casting vote at the meeting the Liberal Democrats could pass any decision.

Meanwhile we have the pupils from a Kirkintilloch school being educated at Thomas Muir while Bishopbriggs pupils are being educated in 'huts' for up to two years!

View the plans here

You will have to download the pdf documents

HMI report - East Dunbartonshire - poor

2006-11-29T16:04:00.000Z

I see the HMI report on the performance of local education authorities leaves ED next to the Borders in terms of poor performance- 2nd bottom, with NOTHING rated as good or very good!

The full report of the HMI is at
download pdf file

Page 37 (of 39) has the graph showing how poor ED has been. You are best to rotate this page to see it more clearly

Scottish Executive reply on School board

2006-11-29T16:00:00.000Z

Have had a reply from the Scottish Executive on the position of the school board.

Interesting - Let's see what the council do about it.

I'm not giving too much away just yet....

What's happening with the Interim School Board?

2006-11-23T17:59:00.000Z

We're now approaching December and the Interim School Board is still in place.

I understand the Scottish Executive have made a ruling - parent have to be told (it's the law).

When was this decision made and why are parents still in the dark?

Watch this space for more amazing revelations on the operation of the school boards associated with Bishopbriggs Secondary Schools.

Fair deal for Bishopbriggs?

2006-11-23T17:32:00.001Z

The site that was not suitable for a school?

At the end of this term St Ninian's will close it doors and move to the old Thomas Muir School while their new school is built on their existing site.

Points to note...

St Ninian's was NOT included in the original council schools PPP plan.
The developers WANTED to build the new St Ninian's on an alternative site.
East Dunbartonshire council REJECTED this proposal and voted to keep it on its original site.
To accomplish this the council HAD to move the pupils to Thomas Muir - the original plan was to move the Academy pupils here while the Academy was built on the High School site.

Did Bishopbriggs get a fair deal?

The decision to decant the pupils from Thomas Muir to Bishopbriggs High was made BEFORE the July council PPP meeting.

Decants are part of the PPP contract and are paid for by the DEVELOPERS they would have to have agreed BEFORE knowing the council decision.

Was the decision on the fate of Bishopbriggs Academy made before the meeting?

St Ninian's were rewarded with a new school, a school NOT in the original plans. Built on their chosen site the developers alternative was rejected, unlike in Bishopbriggs. A full decant to a Bishopbriggs School, previously scheduled to be used by the amalgamated Thomas Muir and Bishopbriggs High pupils had to be agreed.

The public consultation decided the new Bishopbriggs Academy should be built on the High School site - this was rejected by the council using the Liberal Democrat Provost's casting vote.

Did Bishopbriggs get a fair deal.

As this article in the Kirkintilloch Herald says...

Thanks to determined efforts from the school board and staff, it was included in the revised plans.

Did Bishopbriggs get a fair deal?