No Land

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By Andrew PickenBBC Scotland News

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 and between 1,100 and 1,500 primary school age places would now be needed in the area over The Next decade.

Parents have said they as a result of the error.

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

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, 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. "

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Source of news: bbc.com