Council 'incompetence' to blame for Dargavel school blunder

Dargavel Primary is at the heart of a newbuild development with more than 4,000 homes planned

A council which miscalculated the number of places needed for pupils at a new school has been branded "grossly incompetent".

An independent review has delivered a withering verdict on Renfrewshire Council's handling of an error which left Dargavel village short of up to 1,000 primary school places.

The report ruled the local authority's planning was "woefully inadequate".

The council has said it is "deeply sorry for the very serious mistakes".

Dargavel Primary in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, opened last year with a capacity of 548.

Renfrewshire Council then admitted "significant errors" had been made with its forecasts and between 1,100 and 1,500 primary school age places would now be needed in the area over the next decade.

• Parents' anguish as Dargavel school 1,000 places short

• Renfrewshire Council faces £75m bill after school built too small

• Council apology after primary school built too small

Parents have said they face splitting their children between different schools or moving home as a result of the error.

And now an independent review has levied a series of criticism at the council. This includes:

• A 60% increase in housing at the site from the original plan was to be served by only a 30% increase in "already woefully inadequate" planned number of primary school places.

• That council officials displayed arrogance and approached negotiations and assessment of the impact of the development in an "amateur manner".

• Contribution deals for the new school struck with developer BAE Systems were so "grossly inadequate" that as the housing development expanded, BAE's payments to education per child reduced.

• Numerous legitimate concerns expressed by the local groups, some going back over a decade, "were brushed aside, and not subjected to even cursory examination".

The Renfrewshire Council review led by independent consultant David Bowles recommends local school catchment areas are reconsidered and the council's pupil forecast model continues to be revised.

Local parent Alan Kelly says the report highlights "unimaginable failings within Renfrewshire Council"

Local parent Alan Kelly, a former chairman of the school's parent council, said: "The report uses the word incompetent more than once and it notes that numerous legitimate concerns expressed by parents were brushed aside.

"Disappointingly it doesn't touch on failures since October, 2022, and doesn't consider the roles of the current council leadership team.

"The council have again let us down - still no land for the new school, still no plan, nothing in place."

'Deeply sorry'

Renfrewshire Council is in talks with with landowners BAE about securing a site for a new primary school in Dargavel, capable of accommodating 800 pupils, which would cost up to £45m.

In addition, an expansion of Park Mains High School in Erskine, to accommodate 400 extra pupils, would also be required and this has an estimated cost of up to £30m.

The council's chief executive Alan Russell said he was "deeply sorry for the very serious historic mistakes made over a prolonged period" and the "understandable distress caused to local communities in the area.".

He added: "This is a very difficult report for the council and will be equally upsetting for the Dargavel community.

"I fully acknowledge the review findings and accept all its recommendations.

"Detailed work is progressing at pace to increase pupil capacity and to improve our processes and procedures."

A BAE Systems spokesperson said: "Whilst we've fulfilled our planning obligations for primary education by delivering a new school in 2021 and providing land for a nursery, we continue to work proactively with Renfrewshire Council, over and above these obligations, to support its revised strategy for local primary education provision."We recognise the importance of this issue for the residents of Dargavel village and have identified potential areas of the development to Renfrewshire Council which could be used to deliver its additional primary education requirements."