Representing the views of Bucksburn parents since 2007
The last few days has found this site getting LOTS of hits from parents or other interested individuals because of our weather alerts box.
If you were the person searching for “Was School X closed today?” I fear you may have gotten here too late?
(school name removed to save your blushes)
We are having our final meeting before the council makes it’s decision on Monday @ 7PM in the school(Room 5). We’ll be collating everything we have to present at the council meeting on Wednesday, making sure we’ve not missed anything, asking if there’s anything YOU want added and giving those tasked with representing us a chance to make sure they’re happy.
Angela and Sarah (+1) will be (hopefully) going in front of the full council to present/appeal/plead/beg on our behalf.
There is no more we can do after this so it’s imperative that if you can possibly venture out in the (hopefully dry by Monday) weather please do.
We need to make absolutely sure we have a coherent argument for them to take us seriously. It’s the last gasp effort. Really.
The parent council, PTA, Newhills PC and other interested individuals have been very active recently as the final chance for our school is approaching.
Aberdeen City Council meet on 11th February at the Town Hall to make their final vote on the proposition as set out by the Culture and Learning, Neighbourhood Services (North) department of the council.
Public attendance at this meeting is offered if you turn up before 2PM. We are in the process of seeing if we can get a group of parents together to make a more formal representation to the council at this time before they vote. This really is the final opportunity to show the councillors that they need to disregard the case as produced and recommended by Culture & Learning, something that they are unlikely to do even with this representation.
Newhills PC have drawn up a petition which I encourage all parents to sign and I will endeavour to make this available to all parents ASAP. I would encourage parents at Bucksburn to communicate with Newhills at this time, we are both working very hard at achieving a common goal. Both schools serve their communities in the way required by those communities, neither favour the merger and the amalgamation will be the death knell of that special something which cannot be measured that I know Bucksburn, and am sure Newhills, has.
So this is it folks. Can we show the council that they need to listen to the huge public opinion on this matter and do what they were voted in to do – represent their constituents? OR, do we just let THEM tell US what’s going to happen instead?
It’s your school, YOU DECIDE!
This was the Parent Council’s Response letter during the Formal Consultations.
Corporate Director
Neighbourhood Services (North)
Balgownie 1
Conference Way
Bridge of Don
ABERDEEN
AB23 8AQDate: 01 December 2008
Subject: Public Consultation Response
Dear Mr Tomlinson
PROPOSAL TO REPLACE BUCKSBURN AND NEWHILLS SCHOOLS WITH A NEW SCHOOL
Here is the Bucksburn School Parent Council’s response to your consultation on the above. We gathered together our parents’ views and summarised them in the attached letter. This letter was sent to all parents allowing them the option of sending it to yourself and local councillors or taking the time to write their own correspondence.
With regards to the summary of report dated 2/9/08 detailed in your consultation document it would appear to us that the decision to retain Stoneywood School is a political and not financial decision.
Every advantage noted for retaining Stoneywood would apply to Bucksburn School also. It has been made quite clear to us that the council are not in favour of refurbishing Bucksburn and Newhills Schools so why would they consider refurbishing Stoneywood? If Stoneywood is not refurbished, then in the future this building would deteriorate to a Grade C category also. What would then be proposed by the council, as the new build would not be able to accommodate any extra children?
Rezoning the catchment areas in order to sustain Stoneywood supports your preferred decision to site a new school at Newhills. Consider the effects of this if Stoneywood faces closure in the future. It is quite a distance for children from the proposed Mugiemoss Housing Estate to travel to Newhills.
With regards to the Bucksburn site, your plans in the consultation document completely omit the Bucksburn play park and field and the allotment gardens situated above this. This is a large area which we believe has been earmarked for “strategic housing”. This area could accommodate a new school with drop-off points. I have included a plan of the area with one possible utilisation of the land in this respect. The current nursery site could also be utilised with drop-off points being accessed from Howes Road.
We have been in contact with the Land Registry of Scotland and are led to believe, although awaiting confirmation, that this land was gifted to the City for ‘the benefit of the children of Bucksburn’ – nothing could be considered of more benefit to the children than a school. Of course this land could not be sold for housing in future, something the strategic planning committee may wish to investigate further. We will of course share any information we receive from the Land Registry with ACC. Should it indeed be the case that the school and adjacent land are for this use then the knock on effect of using the sale of the land to finance future projects would also be questionable. If there is land there to be used for a school then why not use it?
The council have projected current vehicle use when considering the effects of congestion at Newhills but we feel that there would actually be an increase in those travelling to school by car, not least because of the uphill status of Newhills. While we are aware that should a new school be placed on the Bucksburn site there may be more children by numbers having to walk further, they could do so downhill and via the Howes Road – already closed to traffic. This would keep all walking children from Newhills well away from the A96 while still being able to utilise a main road for car traffic dropping the children at school. The plan included also shows how the creation of a one way ‘service’ road could also be of benefit to the various businesses and houses that are based on the A96, helping keep traffic moving through our area, congestion is reduced and our children are safer.We ask that you do not rush into any decisions and that all options are considered. It may be that in the long term a new school at both Bucksburn and Newhills may be the better option for the whole of the communities.
We are aware that many of our parents have been in contact with you directly with their concerns over the plans and we ask that our views are given the utmost priority and importance. The investment in our children’s futures is to be dictated solely on financial and political decisions.
Yours truly,
William Fagan
(Secretary – Bucksburn Parent Council)
Following a meeting with Mr Brian Adam MSP and as reported here and here it looks for all intents and purposes as if the merger is due to take place regardless of local opinion. The parent council will be writing to all councillors to ensure that more than just the Newhills site be included in feasibility studies and also that the remit of those studies obtain further consultation from parents, or in plain English, they’ll check out more sites for the new school and ask us what points need to be considered when choosing the site.
Feel free to discuss in this forum thread.
IF you have any points you want the Parent Council to include in their formal response you need to let us know NOW! The response must be delivered to the council on Monday.
Normally I would just link to the original document(.doc file) but I felt this should get it’s own post here too. Here is the official response by Aberdeen City Council to the consultation evening of Nov 6th.
Continue reading ‘Council’s Response To Consultation Evening’
The sample letter as mentioned in the schoolbag letters can be downloaded by following this link…
Please sign the letter and send it on to any or all of the people in the list below.
parents letter to council (.doc file)
petition (.doc file)
A full list of who to send them to is as follows…
Continue reading ‘Sample Letters For Your Elected Members’
I’ve registered http://bucksburn.info as the new address for this website – save it to your bookmarks!
All old links should still work.
(0)You can use this form to automatically send your objections or comments to all four Bucksburn Councillors and David Leng(Head of the ACC Department involved in this). We’ve even filled in an example – use this or write your own.
A copy will also be sent to the parent council – we will not use your personal information for any purpose. We are just counting the emails sent.
If the form does not disappear and replace itself with a thank you message and instead you get the 404 “You are looking for something that just isn’t here” please refresh and try again. Occasionally the site has a bit of lag due to technical reasons that I won’t go in to! If you don’t get the thank you confirmation page your email did not send.
Councillor McDonald has responded to the default form above with the following—
Continue reading ‘Objection Form’
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