Education / ‘Number of complaints’ but Dunrossness demolition work set to start
SHETLAND Islands Council says it has received a “number of complaints” about controversial plans to pull down two temporary buildings at Dunrossness Primary School.
Dunrossness Parent Council has made a last-minute plea to stop demolition work at the school, with contractors said to be arriving on site today (Monday).
The parent council issued a late night press release following a meeting at Lerwick Town Hall with the council on Sunday, in which the SIC said the planned demolition of two temporary buildings would be going ahead as planned today.
Parents have continually called for the demolition to be paused and a cost-benefit analysis to be carried out on whether repair would be the better option.
But the appeals appear to have fallen on deaf ears, with a digger seen arriving at the school on Monday afternoon.
Dunrossness Parent Council accused Shetland Islands Council of a catalogue of failures in a lengthy and extremely critical document sent to Shetland News last week.
The group has claimed the SIC has made “biased recommendations to councillors” in a bid to push through the unpopular demolition of temporary buildings at the school.
And it accused the SIC of failing to follow correct procedure, and of failing to communicate and engage with the local community.
It urged the council not to “gamble with our bairns” in a release sent to Shetland News on Sunday night, ahead of work starting at the school today.
Parents have raised “serious concerns over safety, process and the impact on children – particularly those with additional support needs,” it said.
They say the SIC has failed to demonstrate that demolition is the best value option and has not shared basic information about how the demolition site will operate safely during term time.
“We are a small island community simply asking the council to do this properly,” the parent council said.
“We want a safe, positive learning environment for our bairns now and in the future. We are not seeing the evidence that this demolition, in this way and on this timetable, is the right decision.”
The parent council estimates that the demolition of the two buildings, constructed on a ‘temporary’ basis in the 1970s, and refurbishment of a pool room could cost the SIC £150,000.
The parent council has also strongly criticised the lack of engagement and communication from the SIC during the last year.
It claimed that “at least four formal complaints” have been made to the SIC over the past eight months about the situation.
These have all been “closed out without providing evidence to alleviate the concerns raised within the complaints,” it said.
“We will be raising our dissatisfaction in the handling of the parent council complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman but feel the wider democratic process has also failed.”
In response, Shetland Islands Council said it had received a “number of complaints” about the demolition.
“Our complaints process applies the good practice guidelines set out by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman model complaints procedure.
“This sets out clear stages in the complaint handling process, which are applied to any complaints that the council receives.
“The council does not discuss or respond to complaints through the press.”
SIC learning estate manager Neil Beattie told Shetland News last month that the safety of pupils was “of paramount importance” during the planned works.
“We understand some parents would have preferred the demolition to take place entirely during the school holidays,” he said.
“Beginning this first phase earlier will help accelerate the overall refurbishment programme for the school.
“The contractor has extensive experience working on live school sites, and the arrangements in place are specifically designed to minimise disruption and to ensure pupil and public safety at all times.”
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
