Angus parents have called for a council vote on the future of the Arbroath ”superschool” proposal to be held in public.
At a meeting of Angus Council in Forfar on Thursday, councillors will be asked to vote on whether the application to shut Muirfield and Timmergreens primaries in favour of an £8 million new build should be taken to judicial review.
In a joint statement, members of Muirfield Action Group claimed banning the public and press from viewing the decision was the ”final insult” to their long-running campaign.
It read: ”Whilst we understand that the rules allow votes on judicial review to be held in private, they do not state that it must be held behind closed doors.
”In any case this does not apply to the rest of the discussion about where the Arbroath schools project goes now, on which parents and the rest of the community are entitled to hear where their councillors stand.
”Previous judicial review discussions at Angus Council, such as one in 2007, have been open meetings. We have to ask why do they want a secret meeting?”
The statement went on: ”They (the council) seem intent on gambling tens of thousands of pounds of our money to stage an appeal. Would there have been a vote on this to provide the financial backing for us as parents to appeal had the Scottish Government given the green light to the proposal?
”We all know who voted this shambolic proposal through in June despite all the evidence put in front of them then. Some 14 members of Angus Alliance and one Carnoustie independent nailed their colours to the mast back then.
”Are these same people not brave enough to front up to the public again and discuss how to sort out this whole sorry mess?”
The Scottish Government ‘called-in’ the proposal in the summer, before rejecting it completely last week on the grounds that an auditable paper trail had not been provided to explain the condition ratings attached to each of the schools earmarked for closure.
A council spokeswoman said: ”Legislation allows the council to take reports in private to consider advice in connection with any legal proceedings by or against the authority. The legal options are the only matters being considered on Thursday in relation to the Arbroath schools project.”
Meanwhile, Arbroath councillor David Fairweather hit back at claims made by Councillor Donald Morrison, who said he was astonished that the decision was to be made in private.
”Councillor Morrison’s handwringing is hysterical if not hypocritical,” Mr Fairweather said. ”His own government has presided over the biggest cuts the college education sector has ever seen and also the political piracy of the Arbroath schools project, which has denied our children and future children a brand new fit-for-purpose school.”
Mr Morrison responded: ”With less than 90 days to go until the local elections, Councillor Fairweather and his Angus Alliance are rapidly running out of time to decide if they are serving their own interests, or those of the Angus and Arbroath public.”