Frustrated campaigners in Dundee’s Western Gateway worry a delayed new school will never be built – despite another 215 homes being greenlit for development locally.
Families who paid extra when moving to the new estate on the promise of a new primary school say they have repeatedly been “let down”.
Dundee’s SNP council administration remains committed to the project but admits finding the cash is tough.
Pressure is now building on the local authority to give an exact timescale for the school’s construction.
‘Scepticism in the air’
Bill Batchelor, a Western Gateway resident, supports the extra 165 new houses and 50 flats, which we reported had been approved last week.
But he says some families in the development are already looking to move away due to the debacle surrounding the school.
He told The Courier: “It’s extremely frustrating for the parents.
“There seems to be a lot of houses up for sale on site. We’ve heard from neighbours they’re selling because of insecurity and uncertainty.”
He added: “I think it will be built, but I’m not 100% confident.
“We’ve been let down so many times. I’ve been promised four times now.
“There is scepticism in the air. There’s still that bit of doubt in my mind.”
Mr Batchelor said parents have to send their children to other schools outside the council area, in either Angus or Perth and Kinross.
What has gone wrong?
It was hoped the school would be open by 2026, a deadline which is no longer viable.
Residents paid an extra £5,000 “roof tax” each on their homes, a sum factored into the house prices which was to be ring-fenced for the project.
Council bosses applied to the Scottish Government for funding from a major programme designed by the SNP to invest in schools.
Had the application been successful, it would have funded around half the costs of the new facility.
The bid was rejected by the SNP last year, almost a full year after it had been submitted.
In the meantime, the cost of building the new school soared to £25 million earlier this year, an additional £3.2 million.
The “roof tax” paid by families when they moved to the estate is only expected to cover £5.4 million once the development is completely finished.
Speaking to The Courier, SNP education chief Jenny Gilruth defended her government’s decision not to award funding to the Western Gateway school.
She said the government is in an extremely tough financial position just now, and other projects in Dundee had already been given cash.
“I do not have a blank cheque,” she told us.
How will the council fund the school?
The local authority hopes to buy the land for the school from Springfield Properties, the developers, and has no plans to abandon the project.
But SNP Councillor Stewart Hunter, convenor for children and families, was unable to say where his administration will get the money from and when the school will be completed.
He told The Courier: “We’ve put it in our capital plan. That’s staying there. We have given a commitment.
“The timelines have always been a challenge.”
Dundee Labour MSP Michael Marra warned residents in the area could still demand their £5,000 “roof tax” back.
He said: “People moved to the area to raise their family in the community on the explicit promise of a school.
“They have been badly let down by an SNP administration that has failed to plan, failed to budget, and failed to deliver.”
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