Angry Dundee Western Gateway residents have grilled council leader John Alexander over delays to a long-promised school for the area.
Dundee City Council has previously committed to building a primary school to serve the rapidly expanding Western Gateway, which lies on the outskirts of the city.
However the local authority failed to secure Scottish Government funding to help pay for the project when their bid to the Learning Estate Investment Programme was rejected in October.
The funding snub is the latest twist in a long-running saga described by residents as “years of broken promises”.
And on Tuesday over 100 members of the community met with senior council figures for crunch talks over what happens next.
‘The community is not happy’
Bill Batchelor, chairman of the Western Gateway community group, said the meeting was an opportunity for residents air their frustrations.
He said: “We were really pleased with the turnout, there was 130-plus people from the community.
“Along with that we managed to get 576 signatures (on a petition) saying we needed the school, so we were really happy with the support.
“It’s clear from that, and the questions asked to John Alexander and Stewart Hunter, that the community is not happy with the performance of Dundee City Council.”
He added: “There were quite a few personal testimonies regarding the effect it’s having on their children and how upsetting it was for parents not being able to tell them what school they would go to.
“Others said they knew of people who have sold their house in the area because of the issue and others who have regrets over buying their house.
“It was quite powerful and it really made them realise how much of an issue this is.
“They left in no uncertain terms how angry the community is – it’s been almost ten years and we still don’t have a school.”
‘There should’ve been contingencies in place’
Dundee City Council previously said were seeking clarity from the Scottish Government and exploring other funding options to get the school built.
And in an update to residents given at Tuesday’s meeting, residents were told to expect further detail in a report which will go before the children, families and communities committee in January.
But Mr Batchelor said there is still unanswered questions over why there was no back-up plan in place in the event no funding was available.
Responding to the concerns, councillor Stewart Hunter – convener of the children, families and communities committe – said they were focused delivering the promised school.
“One thing for us is learning from what’s happened in the past and making sure we can deliver a school for the community that’s exactly what they want and need”, he said
“We’ve never been shy to go to the Scottish or the UK Government or anybody else to try and get funding for the city. We’ll continue to do that.”
5 key questions at heart of Western Gateway school controversy
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