Parents at a Perthshire school fear their concerns have “fallen on deaf ears” as they slammed plans to build an extension on top of their children’s playground.
Perth and Kinross Council wants to build an extension to the nursery at Rattray Primary School over the current playground despite objections from parents who claim the plan will severely impact on the outdoor space available to children.
Councillors have been recommended to approve the application at Wednesday’s planning and development management committee which will see the capacity of the nursery jump from 48 kids to 74.
Rattray Primary Parent Council chairwoman Claire Galloway, who has two children at the school, said parents believe the current plan is the wrong option.
Claire said: “It’s very frustrating for everybody and at the end of the day, we’ve only got the kids’ best interest at heart.
“It’s very sad that the council won’t listen to the children or the parents or even the teachers.”
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The parents claim the current proposal will reduce the amount of space in which their children have to play while also not making enough space for the influx of nursery children the extension is being built for.
They have also raised concerns about where the children are supposed to play while the extension is being built, which they believe could take around a year.
Claire said: “We’re not against the new nursery because it is definitely needed but it is completely in the wrong place on the playground.
“We’ve been making these points for the last year now.
“The kids will have no suitable place to play on the playground and the building is going to take a year which means the playground will be out of action.
“I don’t know where they’re going to put 240 children.
“But this has all fallen on deaf ears. It feels like these things haven’t been properly considered.
“We’ve lost faith in the council on this and on other issues in the local area.”
Claire said the parent council will send a representative to Wednesday’s meeting in one last attempt to have the plan rejected.
She said: “We have a member of the parent council who wants to be heard at the meeting – it’s up to them (the council) whether or not they want to listen.”
