Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee residents ‘forgotten about’ after failure to deliver school in new housing development

Harris Academy.
Harris Academy.

Residents who paid thousands in “roof tax” after buying houses on the edge of Dundee on the promise of a new school say they have been “forgotten” about.

A group of those living in the Western Gateway development spoke of their anger at Dundee City Council’s Children and Families Services Committee last night.

The development, which so far contains 460 homes, is situated just beyond the Kingsway on the perimeter of Dundee and close to Invergowrie.

The committee heard that so far around £600,000 in so-called “roof tax” has been paid by those who have purchased homes in the area, amounting to £4680 per dwelling.

The cost to build a new school is estimated at around £13 million and a council report claimed just 58 children of primary school age currently live in the new housing estate.

Bill Batchelor from the newly formed Western Gateway Community said the area should be renamed the “forgotten gateway” due to the lack of commitment by the council.

He said: “The issue is there is no commitment here.

“To say we are massively disappointed with the council would be a gross understatement.

“We feel we have not had an opportunity to have our views heard.”

Another local resident, Becky Reid, said the council’s only alternative offered is to travel 4.6 miles to an existing school in Ardler, something she says is “unacceptable”.

The residents also pointed to a lack of lighting, paths, and access to parks and public transport.

A further 600 new properties are planned for developments at Dykes of Gray, Liff Gardens and on land adjacent to West Green Park.

Council leader John Alexander said the council’s intention was to have a trischool serving pupils from Angus, Perth and Dundee, however he was left frustrated after an agreement could not be reached.

He added the council still wants to build a school but currently the “logistics and finances just aren’t there”.

An amendment tabled by Lochee Labour councillor Michael Marra asking the council to return with options for primary provision for the area was agreed after SNP councillors were outvoted.

Meanwhile, Invergowrie children may soon need to travel over 20 miles to secondary school after councillors agreed to begin a public consultation on drastic changes.

The plans would mean the of removal Invergowrie Primary School as an associated primary to Harris Academy, which is just over two miles away.

Children in the Perth & Kinross part of Invergowrie would need to travel to Perth High, which is over 20 miles away, from August 2021.

Before the vote, Angus Forbes, who represents the Perth & Kinross ward Carse of Gowrie which includes Invergowrie, said children living there “deserve to be listened to”.

He also pointed to increased pollution and inconvenience to parents of travelling to Perth, as well as the impact on childhood friendships.

He said: “We will do everything we can to persuade you to keep the status quo in regard to Invergowrie.

“Imagine the heartbreak when aged 12, friendships are broken when they each need to go in a different direction, all due to a line on a map.

“We also face a climate emergency so is it really wise to be bussing children 40 miles per day up the A90 when they can almost see a perfectly good school just across the road?”

Councillors voted 18-12 in favour of beginning the consultation, defeating an amendment by Michael Marra calling for it to be deferred pending an “overall strategic review of school provision”.