YOUR LETTERS

In response to David Anderson, corporate director, East Dunbartonshire Council, regarding the facilities at the proposed Bearsden Academy (Letters, January 9): Sportscotland may not have objected formally to the sports facilities proposed but it has made it clear that it does not believe there are sufficient facilities, indoor and out, for a school with a roll of 1200 pupils. Sportscotland exists to provide guidance to local authorities and others yet appears to be toothless when proposals fall short of its recommendations. A council official informed me that it is only guidance, so they can ignore the recommendations.

Scottish Executive officials must take action to ensure that this organisation is given powers to ensure that all our schools have facilities to improve health and breed champion athletes of the future.

Bearsden North Community Council and around 20 other local groups and individuals have objected to the proposals. In fact, we have raised a total of 18 issues with the council. We feel so strongly about these issues that we have requested a public hearing prior to the council approving the plans.

Part of the problem with this PPP project has been the lack of proper consultation. Mr Anderson states that the council's PPP team has worked with its building partner but makes no mention of working with local groups. The council is working so closely with building partners that it proposes to allow them to start building on the existing school site early this year. This means that existing sports facilities will be lost with no suitable alternative provided. The council also proposes to sell part of the new site to developers for commercial use rather than use the land to provide the sports facilities recommended in Sportscotland guidance. Developers' profits appear to be more important than our children's education.

Detailed plans for the school were only made available to the public on November 9, 2006. From a public perspective, it appears that a veil of secrecy has been drawn over these proposals and that all reasonable observations are brushed aside as irrelevant or too late to be considered.

I agree with Mr Anderson that the objective must be to provide facilities fit for the challenges of the 21st century. But I cannot accept that this will be achieved when the pitches proposed are less than the recommended size, there is one fewer rugby pitch than at present, there is no full-size hockey pitch, a running track is laid out over grass pitches and, Mr Anderson fails to mention, pupils will be bussed to other sports facilities to fulfil the curriculum.

East Dunbartonshire states that it is committed to community planning. To quote from its own document, community planning is "most importantly, about ensuring that local people are able to influence the decisions of the organisations that provide their services". Fine words, but on this project the council has failed to put them into practice.

Keith Small, Chair, Bearsden North Community Council, 66 Dumgoyne Drive, Bearsden.