Education / Pausing Dunrossness demolition ‘more complex’ than folk think, councillor says
Parent council urges SIC to provide legal basis for work
A SOUTH Mainland councillor has said a request by Dunrossness Parent Council to pause demolition work at its primary school has proven “more complex than many would expect”.
The parent council released a new statement on Tuesday night, claiming there were “serious questions about whether the correct planning powers are being used” by Shetland Islands Council (SIC) in the demolition of two temporary school buildings.
The group has repeatedly called for work to be halted immediately, and for a cost-benefit analysis to be carried out into whether repair would be the better option.
In its latest statement, the parent council has urged the SIC to prove that the legal basis for the demolition is sound – and to publish the information immediately.
South Mainland councillor Bryan Peterson, who has spoken regularly with members of the parent council, said he can “understand the depth of feeling in the community about this”.
But with a live contract in place to carry out the demolition, he said the parent council’s request for an immediate council meeting to halt the works had proved extremely difficult.
“The request to pause and revisit the decision is a reasonable one, and it has been supported by the majority of South Mainland councillors,” Peterson told Shetland News.
“However, it has proven to be more complex than many would expect.
“There are contractual and financial implications, and any change at this stage would require a formal council process, including an urgent meeting and a clear majority of councillors agreeing a way forward.
“This is all against a very challenging timeline.”
Peterson suggested he did not think that there would be a majority of councillors willing to stop the demolition when a live contract was in place.
He said this did not appear to be a situation “where anyone is acting in bad faith”, and that all parties had “the long-term interests of the bairns at heart”.
But he criticised the way the demolition news had been communicated to parents.
“A lot of discussion has taken place, but not always in ways that feel constructive or that create shared understanding,” Peterson said.
“In complex situations involving several groups, services, and responsibilities, social media is rarely the best place to resolve matters.
“That said, I want to reassure folk that this situation is being taken very seriously, and that there has been a significant amount of engagement around these issues.”
Peterson said the sight of a digger, as published by Shetland News earlier this week, at the Dunrossness site had proven “emotive for many folk”.
“These are not just buildings, but places where generations have been educated, worked, and built memories,” he said.
“I understand the depth of feeling in the community about this. We are talking about a local school, our bairns’ education, and classrooms that have deep personal meaning for many families in Dunrossness.
“It is entirely right that people care passionately about what is happening.”
His priority now, he said, was to “rebuild constructive relationships” between the community and the SIC.
“My focus is on ensuring that local people are meaningfully involved in the next phases of work at Ness Primary School, and that the parent council, the school community, and the council are working together to shape how the renewed spaces are developed.
“There are strong emotions in Ness, but also a great deal of energy and care that can positively support the next stage of development at the school.”
Construction machinery was seen arriving at the Dunrossness site on Monday afternoon, ahead of plans to pull down two temporary buildings based at the school.
The move has proved controversial, with parents criticising the decision to do the work during term-time – amid concerns over noise, dust and site traffic.
Dunrossness Parent Council accused Shetland Islands Council of a catalogue of failures in a lengthy and extremely critical document last week.
The group 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.
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.”
This week the SIC confirmed 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,” a spokesperson said.
“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.”
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