After a prolonged planning period, the City Council Administration was today able to announce further new schools projects - including new schools for Park Place and St Joseph's Primaries in the West End.I have given my views in tonight's "Evening Telegraph" - here is the news release I issued :
NEWS RELEASE : COUNCILLOR WELCOMES NEW WEST END SCHOOLS PROPOSAL
Dundee City Councillor for the West End, Cllr Fraser Macpherson, who is also the City’s Planning & Transport Convener, has welcomed news of the proposal to build two new primary schools in the West End, saying that new schools to replace the current Park Place and St Joseph’s Primary Schools were much needed and the proposals showed the commitment of the Labour/Liberal Democrat administration to continue to improve the school estate in Dundee.
Cllr Macpherson said, "I hope that City Councillors will approve the West End news schools proposals and those for Lochee and Charleston at next Monday’s meeting. The Labour/LibDem administration is making every effort to continue schools building projects in the City and it is important that we now consult with the local schools communities on the proposals.
"I would contrast the action of the City Council administration with the inaction of the SNP administration at Holyrood – it has removed the public private partnership funding but has failed utterly to replace it with anything that actually delivers anything.
"Had we still had an additional funding mechanism, even more could be done in Dundee to build further new schools, and I think it is about time the SNP stopped welcoming others’ initiatives and their Scottish Government provided additional funding including level playing field support to allow us to improve Dundee’s school estate even further."