The Kintyre Forum

See press release below. What would you opt for and why?

COUNCIL AGREES 2010/11 ASSET MANAGEMENT AND CAPITAL PLAN

An outline business case is to be drawn up into future options regarding five schools in the Campbeltown area.

The decision was made as part of the 2010/11 Corporate Asset Management and Capital Plan (CAMCP), which was agreed by Argyll and Bute Council today.

The three options which will be considered for the five schools - Campbeltown Grammar School, and Castlehill, Dalintober, St Keirans and Drumlemble Primaries and associated Pre-5 units - are:

> Continue existing piecemeal modernisation plans for all five schools

> Continue piecemeal modernisation plans for four primaries, and construct a new secondary school on the existing Campbeltown Grammar site

> Construct a new joint campus (pre-5, primary and secondary) on the site of the existing Campbeltown Grammar School.

Among the other areas of capital spend agreed today were:

> £4.2million for roads reconstruction in 2010/11, and – as a priority – developing a revised Roads Asset Management Plan which will appraise options to address the long term condition of the 2,300km roads network

> Complete a revised Outline Business Case for the new Helensburgh swimming pool and leisure facility

> £2.725million for the CHORD programme in 2010/11 (the Council is committed to total CHORD funding of £30.8million over the years 2010 to 2016)

> Contruct a new landfill cell at Glengorm Landfill site on Mull

> Complete Outline Business Cases for new Bio Mass and Wind Turbine technologies in partnership with the Carbon Trust, in line with the Council’s Carbon Management Programme.

Council Leader Dick Walsh said the CAMCP would be reviewed and updated throughout 2010/11.

“This plan reflects the Council’s Strategic Capital investment priorities and service plans to support strategic change, service development and asset sustainability projects in 2010-11,” he added.

“The programme identifies and addresses the Council’s strategic planning priorities which include the CHORD programme, school replacement and road and infrastructure projects.

“We will be updating the plan on a regular basis throughout the year as information changes, and will also be pursuing all other potential funding sources, including from Europe.”

Kintyre Forum News wrote:An outline business case is to be drawn up into future options regarding five schools in the Campbeltown area.

The decision was made as part of the 2010/11 Corporate Asset Management and Capital Plan (CAMCP), which was agreed by Argyll and Bute Council today.

The three options which will be considered for the five schools - Campbeltown Grammar School, and Castlehill, Dalintober, St Keirans and Drumlemble Primaries and associated Pre-5 units - are:

> Continue existing piecemeal modernisation plans for all five schools

> Continue piecemeal modernisation plans for four primaries, and construct a new secondary school on the existing Campbeltown Grammar site

> Construct a new joint campus (pre-5, primary and secondary) on the site of the existing Campbeltown Grammar School.

If the Council are going to consider options surely there should be a 4th option considering the construction of a new secondary school AND the construction of a new joint primary school?

mrn wrote:If the Council are going to consider options surely there should be a 4th option considering the construction of a new secondary school AND the construction of a new joint primary school?

I could be wrong , but was there not a vote on the very same issue 4/5 years ago and the answer was no to a joint primary beacuse it would mean closing other "rural" schools.

Dunc R wrote:

mrn wrote:If the Council are going to consider options surely there should be a 4th option considering the construction of a new secondary school AND the construction of a new joint primary school?

I could be wrong , but was there not a vote on the very same issue 4/5 years ago and the answer was no to a joint primary beacuse it would mean closing other "rural" schools.

Not that I am aware of Dunc R.

Certainly my point was there should be a new secondary school. And there should be a new joint primary school consisting of the three primary schools in Campbeltown. (of course this then may take in a couple of the rural schools..)

I went to the meeting about 5 years ago. The arguement then was that the council wanted to build a joint primary/secondary school in the field next to the hospital at Limecraigs. Some objections made were, there would be no playground as such and the primary kids would have to crossover onto Meadows field to play, posing a danger crossing a busy road, there would be no pick up/drop of point or parking available to parents. Also, alot of parents objected to their 5 year olds sharing the same toilets etc as the older end of the scale. As we know when the kids reach around 15 some start smoking and I know when I was at school, they smoked at school. Alot of parents felt that the kids should have their primary school before going on to 'the big school'. When these issues were raised, the building of a new school in the town was shelved and other towns got their new schools. Now, Campbeltown Grammar is literally falling to bits. My kids sit in some classes with their coats on, freezing. Teachers are working in these conditions trying to make the best of it. The council should have another meeting in the town with parents and maybe run a ballot to find out what the majority of the parents/teachers want.