Old wounds reopened as councillors debated the future of Arbroath’s crumbling primary schools.
A council education committee meeting in Forfar on Thursday discussed the options that will be given to the community on how best to update, modernise or replace them.
As The Courier reported, Angus Council recognises all but one of the 10 primaries in the town’s catchment area are no longer fit ”for purpose”. A report to the committee outlined a range of options for the future.
Elected members voted to widen the range of choices, to include a maintentence, repair and replacement-only option, despite the council’s assertion it does not have the money for this to be viable.
After a healthy debate, one of the biggest proponents for an Arbroath ”superschool”, Independent councillor David Fairweather, moved the item go before a meeting of the full council.
Education director Neil Logue’s report before committee recommended that two main options be given in a fresh consultation.
These were options three and four. Option three is to combine refurbishment and improvement with a programme of maintenance, repairs and replacement, and option four is a combination of the above with a programme of new builds.
Arbroath SNP councillor Ewan Smith, the committee’s vice-convener, moved to amend the report so that a maintenance-only option was among the consultation’s choices.
He said: ”This would ensure Arbroath would be given a full range of options. I feel we have to give these options. Consultation should not focus on what can’t be selected.
”This is why the previous administration’s consultation was flawed. By opening up option two we have an opportunity to address problems at all schools.
”If the aim is to provide a fit model for 1,929 primary school children, this is a valid option.
”This topic has been very, very controversial over the past five years. We have invested a lot of time and energy that proved to be flawed.”
Mr Smith’s amendment was seconded by the convener Sheena Welsh and passed by 11 votes to five.
The battle to build an Arbroath superschool was one of the defining moments of the last council administration, the ”Angus Alliance”.
However plans crumbled when the Scottish Government quashed the council’s moves to close Timmergreens and Muirfield primaries, due to inadequate consultation.
The matter is likely to come before a full meeting of the council in the next couple of months.