Aberdeen City Council is to carry out a statutory public consultation on the establishment of a new primary school and catchment area to serve new housing developments in the Bucksburn/Newhills areas of the city.
Members of Education and Children’s Services Committee today (Tuesday 04 July) instructed the Chief Officer, Corporate Landlord to carry out a statutory public consultation on the proposal to establish a new primary school at Bucksburn/Newhills with a new catchment area based on the proposed changes to the existing school catchment area for Brimmond School.
Under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, a local authority is required to carry out a statutory public consultation on these proposals, before any decision can be taken on whether to proceed with any changes.
Currently, the area of new housing at Newhills (made up of the Craibstone South, Rowett South and Greenferns Landward sites) is included within the catchment area for Brimmond School. School roll forecasts indicate that the capacity of Brimmond School will be far exceeded, if the numbers of children expected to be living within the new housing in the future are entitled to enrol at the school.
For this reason it has been deemed necessary to construct a new school to serve the new area of housing. When establishing a new school, it is also necessary to define a catchment area for the school, to confirm which areas of land and housing will be served by the school.
The committee agreed that changes should be made to the existing catchment area for Brimmond School, to create a new separate catchment area, which would be served by the proposed new school and to reduce the area of land which would be served by Brimmond School in the future, which will help to ensure that pupil numbers at Brimmond School can remain within the school’s capacity.
Councillor Martin Greig, convener, of Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “The consultation is a chance for current and future residents of the area to have their say about the the future of the Brimmond School catchment area.
“The proposed new primary school in Bucksburn and Newhills will make a big difference locally so it will be good to hear questions and views from anyone who wishes to contribute. This is an important discussion to get involved in. The feedback will help to shape the decisions and ensure we get this right. “
Vice Convener, Councillor Jessica Mennie said: “The public consultation will allow everyone with an interest, particularly residents currently living in the Bucksburn/Newhills area and anyone considering moving to the location to be part of the discussion.
“The building of a new primary school in Bucksburn/Newhills and the creation of a new catchment area for Brimmond School will ensure that all children currently living there or moving into the area will have the opportunity to be enrolled in their local school and have access to learning in a great educational setting.”
It is anticipated that the statutory consultation will be carried out in Winter 2023/24, although this is subject to the scheduling of staff resource within the Council and within Education Scotland, which is required to support the consultation process.
The Chief Officer, Corporate Landlord will report back to the Committee on the outcomes of the consultation at its next available meeting following conclusion of the consultation process.
The Council’s School Estate Plan was approved at the former Education Operational Delivery Committee on 8 September 2022, when members instructed officers to determine options and appropriate timing for new primary school provision to serve new housing developments at Newhills, and to report back with an Outline Business Case.
The Outline Business Case which presented a preferred design option for a new school was approved by the Finance and Resources Committee on 17 May 2023, when officers were instructed to proceed with drawing up a Full Business Case for the project.
A consultation is required before the Final Business Case for the proposed new school can be approved.
It is anticipated that the statutory consultation will be carried out in Winter 2023/24, although this is subject to the scheduling of staff resource within the Council and within Education Scotland, which is required to support the consultation process.
The Chief Officer, Corporate Landlord will report back to the Committee on the outcomes of the consultation at its next available meeting following conclusion of the consultation process.
Photo: Local primary education provision is currently at Brimmond School.