Dargavel Primary: 'Lessons not learned' after school blunder

Dargavel Primary School in Bishopton opened in January 2022

A parent has accused Renfrewshire Council of failing to listen to a community affected by a school capacity blunder.

Miscalculations led to Dargavel Primary school, near Bishopton, being built with much lower capacity than required.

It comes as a new report said the council "risks repeating past mistakes" if communication isn't improved.

Renfrewshire Council has accepted the report's findings and said it wanted stakeholders' voices to be heard.

The Accounts Commission report said the council also failed to engage appropriately or transparently with communities over the expansion of secondary school provision.

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The latest report looks at the steps taken to mitigate the problems caused by the Dargavel Primary problems, including plans to expand Park Mains secondary school and the decision to build a second primary school in the Dargavel housing development.

It has called for an audit to "urgently" investigate issues at the council to be conducted by June.

The commission reserves the right to hold a public hearing if it is not satisfied with the findings.

The chair of Dargavel Primary parent council says the council are still not listening

Kevin McIntyre, chair of the Dargavel Primary parent council, told BBC Scotland News he welcomed the findings of the report.

He said: "It shows just how important an issue this is and how big a mess Renfrewshire Council have made of the situation across the board.

"The fact Renfrewshire Council are failing to listen to the community and the fact they are still doing so shows just how they are not the right people to be dealing with the situation.

"This affects not just children currently living here, but the children to come for the next 30/40 years. Not just in Bishopton but the whole of Renfrewshire."

Mr McIntyre, who has lived in Dargavel for seven years, agreed there was work to be done to regain the trust of his community, and added he had yet to see any evidence of the council "learning lessons from the past."

"They have said they are going to be more transparent but up until now they haven't been," he said.

"Discussions need to be taking place from the bottom up. At the moment they are making decisions based on what is easiest for the council."

He said the parent council want to see plans to extend nearby Park Mains High School "paused" to allow for a proper options appraisal to take place.

But Mr McIntyre said the council were "pushing ahead" with the plans anyway, a decision he felt was simply putting a "sticking plaster on the problem".

Dargavel Primary in Bishopton is at the heart of a newbuild development

Mr McIntyre also hit out at plans to build the second primary school just 600m away from the existing Dargavel Primary School.

He said: "We already have problems with parking and safety issues with just one school in the development, and then nearly doubling the numbers. It's a recipe for disaster.

"The paths aren't wide enough for people to walk with prams, scooters and bikes.

"We are going to have kids seriously hurt, on footpaths or by a vehicle.

"It will condense all the problems into such a small area that won't be rectified for at least 40 years."

'Right to be angry'

A Renfrewshire council spokesperson said: "We note (and accept) criticism of our initial engagement on the council's decision to extend Park Mains, but the rationale for this and the financial and educational impacts of the alternatives have since been shared in detail, and we can evidence wide and positive engagement as we have progressed our planning.

"The decision to extend the school is welcomed by the majority of the Park Mains school community.

"We fully accept it will take time to rebuild trust, and communities have the right to be angry at the situation."

The spokesman said the council was committed to getting things right for families and providing "the best possible educational experience for local children".

He also said the council wanted to ensure all local stakeholders "were engaged and their voices heard".

The spokesperson added the next steps including launching a comprehensive formal consultation on proposals to deliver a new primary school by August 2027, if approved by councillors.