New primary school update

Glasgow City Council is proposing to build a primary school on Queen Margaret Drive. This will require planning permission.  Officers of the Council have provided Councillor Morgan with the following update on this (dated 30 January 2019), which she in turn has provided to us. Please note the formal planning application has not yet been lodged.

Owing to the fact that the proposed site for the new primary school is in excess of two hectares in overall area, Planning law requires that a Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) takes place.  As part of work involved in the PAC, a public event took place on the 21st June 2018 in the Maryhill Burgh Halls.  The purpose of the event was to provide an opportunity for the local community to be informed of the development, to view the proposals of the new school and provide feedback to help inform the proposals prior to a planning application.  Project Management and Design [PMD], in house design team for the Council, consulted the Planning Authority with regard whom to notify of the PAC event and as advised, we notified all the Community Councils and Councillors within the proposed school’s catchment area and MSPs.  Local schools and nurseries were asked to display an invitation to the PAC event on their notice boards and to distribute the invitation to parents and carers. All properties within 20m of the application site boundary were notified of the PAC event by letter sent out in the post.  Also, an advert for the consultation was placed in the Evening Times.

The proposed tarmac MUGA [Multi Use Games Area] at the proposed North Kelvinside Primary will be available to the community for free play out with school hours.  Part of the development also includes a full size synthetic pitch which will be bookable via GlasgowLife.

Through feedback forms received at the PAC event, there was a significant level of concern raised by the community that the school could contribute to increased vehicular congestion especially at pick up and drop off times around the school day.  In collaboration with GCC’s Roads colleagues from DRS and LES, a vehicular drop off area for the new school is proposed and located towards the south east of the site, accessed from the existing roadway adjacent to Maryhill Fire Station.  The purpose of creating this area is to help manage cars at drop off and collection times where parents and carers are choosing to drop off children by car; the closer the drop off area is to the proposed school, the more likely it will be used.  No changes are planned specifically at Oran Gate.  As with all schools, it is hoped that all parents and carers will opt for the most sustainable method of transport to access their local school.

Free use of the site will prevail until construction work commences subject to the various permissions required.

An external consultant has been appointing to undertake a detailed Landscape Appraisal, Design and Management Strategy, which will assess the quality of the existing tree stock and the impact of the proposal on the current landscape.  It will also advise on tree replacement and the mitigation of any tree loss.  A management plan will detail how we can achieve a healthy and sustainable tree cover for the next twenty five years.  Details of any proposed tree removal and replacement will be made available publically through the formal planning process.

The majority of existing buildings in the surrounding area vary between two to five storeys. The tallest wing of the proposed school is 3 storey and is orientated so that the long side is facing away from the residential properties on Queen Margaret Drive.  Following the Pre-Application Consultation event and the feedback received from the community, the scale of the building has been reduced and the building has been set back from Queen Margaret Drive.

PMD anticipated that the formal planning application for the proposed school will be lodged in early February.  In line with Planning Law, Neighbours to the development will be formally notified – in the context of the Planning process, ‘Neighbours’ means owners and lessees of properties within 20 metres from the boundary of the development site.

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