Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Has Bishopbriggs lost out again?

Proposed site

As you can see from the above 'footprint' of the proposed Bishopbriggs Academy it fits neatly into the area of the pitches on the Thomas Muir site.

Why does this have to be?

With two sites and one school being built in Bishopbriggs and ALL the pupils using the Bishopbriggs High campus during the build.

Why not knock down Thomas Muir and built the new school where the old one was sited?


Because the bidders need to use the Thomas Muir school to allow them to knock down a school in Kirkintilloch that WILL be built on it's own footprint.

That's the only way they could complete the project in the reduced time scale they offered the council.

Are they now saying that the present school is not on the best position for a school on this site?
Then why did they built it there in the first place?

New school on existing footprint

This decision has again angered residents who will now live in the 'shadow' of the new school where once they had views of the Campsies.

Have the people of Bishopbriggs lost out again?

Not only the site of the school but the position of the school on that site is now being questioned.

Will the council take the residents considerations into account? - I wouldn't hold my breath!

A spokesperson for the council said...
"Matters of detail will now be addressed... local people will be able to make representations on the planning application for the new school building once it has been submitted"


You can check recent planning applications on the council web site here

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The planned position of the new school has been constrained by the need to accomodate the decanted pupils from St Ninian's just as much as the High School site was constrained by the railway line.

Building on the pitches will mean that the hill the present school sits on will have to be flattened for the Academy's pitches. I think most people assumed that the new school would be built upon the present footprint, not shoehorned into a corner with classrooms looking into the bathrooms and rear bedrooms of the houses' that the school will be backing onto.

Of course these considerations were probably not of great concern to the builders who had their eyes on the more valuable High School site. This site is the only land made available with the rebuilding of schools in East Dunbartonshire to be ear marked for mixed housing and RETAIL. Maybe Bishopbriggs will get the M&S store it wanted after all....assuming the Bearsden and Milngavie mafia don't put the boot into Bishopbriggs once more.

Anonymous said...

I wonder when the Bishopbriggs people will actually get into the new Academy building since, looking at the rough layout shown, the new build cannot be finished ie parking playing fields etc until St Ninians is finished and decanted back And if St Ninians is delayed for any reason.... As to cost (savings?)I honestly wonder just how much it will cost to flatten the so called level site where the existing buildings are to create the level surface required for the playing fields