New Portobello High School - planning application granted

[seashell]

Depends on whether they actually file a case and what the grounds are, e.g. would it be a new case or an appeal hearing? But even if they go ahead with an action it still could be sisted while background discussions go on, with the hope of an out-of-court agreement being reached. It's a very, very expensive business and I would imagine any advocate taking thier case on would want to be assured his fees were going to be paid.

[seanie]

It wouldn't be an appeal; there are no legal proceedings to date. Either it would be some kind of 'judicial review' of the process to date, or it would most likely be a challenge to a previous decision in the Inner House in a separate case.

[Porty]

£80,000 is not much. Theres about 125 residences that face directly onto the park. If there really is substantial anti school feeling its only 640 quid a head.

[Maria]

£80,000 is not much. Theres about 125 residences that face directly onto the park. If there really is substantial anti school feeling its only 640 quid a head.

That's assuming PPAG have zero funds at the moment, which can't be the case. They have been fundraising for a considerable amount of time.

Sounds like the possibility of a legal challenge by PPAG isn't an empty threat after all.

[Bob Jefferson]

I have heard, from what I consider to be a totally reliable source, that PPAG are approaching residents of ParK Avenue and asking for a four figure donation towards their legal fighting fund. The target is £80k

Is there a leaflet pertaining to this, or is the request in verbal form only? I wonder if whoever is doing this is making it crystal clear to residents that they have very little chance of success? A four figure sum is a lot of money to back a losing horse.

[Porty]

That's assuming PPAG have zero funds at the moment, which can't be the case. They have been fundraising for a considerable amount of time.

Very true, I think the fundraising started with the collection buckets at the St Marks meeting back in 2006. I suppose PPAG could also approach organisations lke No Friends on the Earth for a contribution.

And PCATS have already established a precedent that funds given to one particular local cause can be diverted to another cause of their choosing. So there's another potential source of funding.

[Porty]

Is there a leaflet pertaining to this, or is the request in verbal form only? I wonder if whoever is doing this is making it crystal clear to residents that they have very little chance of success?

You are a veteran of PPAG leaflets, when have you ever seen one that gets even remotely close to telling the truth?

[seanie]

Progress update.

Already out to tender and expected on site in November.

[seanie]

Interesting article on developments in legal actions. Scots courts have started limiting costs to losing parties. However, if the figures in the case are anything to go by, you'd still need upwards of £80,000 to take a case the Court of Session as well as an additional £30,000 plus to cover costs to the other side if you lose.

Also there's an element of reciprocity if costs are capped so should you win you may only get a portion of you own costs back.

Raising over £110,000 may be a bit of a stretch between now and November.

[Makaveli]

http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Port ... 6786678.jp

Portobello High School timetable speeds up
THE long-awaited replacement Portobello High School could be open as early as 2013 - six months ahead of the original target, it has emerged.
A new report reveals that the school's management has asked the council to bring forward the completion date so that pupils can move into the new building after the summer holidays, in August 2013, instead of the following January.

Council bosses have received an "unprecedented level of interest" from construction companies wanting to carry out the work, with 22 submissions having been made.

...

[Porty]

Raising over £110,000 may be a bit of a stretch between now and November.

It does seem like a big ask. However, I fear that something may well be up. I'm not sure what the proper term is for a group of PPAGers but three or four of the leading lights have been spotted laughing in public, yes laughing, I kid you not. And I'm fairly sure that its not because of the enforcment order on our new high street location. What can it be?

[seanie]

The following appears to be doing the rounds;

Dear Park Supporter

If you have any doubt about the seriousness of the council's intention to push ahead with the school on the park, please see the article below which states that they are trying to speed up the process and deliver the school six months earlier than planned. They are trying to get the school started before we get to court.

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/ ... 6786678.jp

This means that we have a very small window in which to lodge the case in court. This is happening imminently and we are not likely to get a date for the case until September or October. This give us time to raise more money but we need to raise £50,000 in three months. Quite a few people have already donated but we need many more donations, so if you were thinking about donating, it would be great if you could do so sooner rather than later. We need to have all the money before the case starts as we don't want to run out of money part way through the process and not to be able to proceed because of that. We have been fighting this for the last five years so it would be a great shame to fall at the final hurdle.

How much need I contribute?

All donations are welcome no matter how small but the smaller the amounts the more donors we need. For instance £80,000 equals 800 residents donating £100 or it could mean 80 people donating £1,000. To put it in context, £1,000 is less than 0.5% of values of properties adjacent to the Park. Time to contact potential donors is short as we do not have time to raise funds through normal channels.

Some people have donated a hundred pounds or so whilst some others have donated £2,000 and one person £4,000. But it’s not a contest and all donations remain confidential. Also, as you would expect, this is a prudent target for us to aim for and any funds not needed will be returned to donors.

How can I contribute?

To contribute towards the funds you can either send a cheque, payable to Portobello Park Action Group, to ------------------- or you can transfer money directly into the PPAG account (a/c no: -------- sort code: -------). If you choose the latter option please let us know so that we can keep track of donations.

We have been fighting this battle for five years and have succeeded in getting the Council to admit that the Park is a Common Good Asset and drop plans (at this stage) for housing. This is the last opportunity to force the Council to do what it should have done all along and recognise that Portobello Park was acquired as a public park for all to enjoy for ever. The Council is hoping that the cost of challenging them will bully the community into taking this lying down. Please don’t let it happen.

We need your financial support now to further challenge the Council otherwise the Park will be lost forever. Please give as generously as you can.

If you have any questions about the legal challenge please e-mail enquiries@portygreenkeepers.org.uk or ‘phone --------------.

Thanks for your support

[Makaveli]

Cannae believe that someone has put in 4 grand!!! They must really not want the school there.

Like others have said the park is just a big dog toilet and the land is much better used for the new school which will be bringing jobs to the area.

Also if the people that live in these houses that overlook the park are worried about the value of their property then I don't think they should be as it is proven all over the country that people will pay extra for houses near schools and i am sure this being a brand new built school child places will become highly sought after.

See it's not all bad PPAG people

[Bob Jefferson]

If residents of Park Avenue, and its environs, have that sort of money to waste on a hopeless and pointless cause, then perhaps they might consider giving it instead to a more deserving local charity. I guess not too many of them intend to send their children to Portobello High then? Not good enough perhaps?

[Porty]

Seanie - I got a copy of the Email sent to me too, from a Diana? At least It was notable for not being anonymous, which is unusual for a PPAG communication.

Do they really expect people to believe the Council are "are trying to speed up the process and deliver the school six months earlier than planned. They are trying to get the school started before we get to court"?

If PPAG have a case and sufficent funding to instigate court action to stop a school on the park, what difference would the commencement of construction make? Methinks none whatsoever.

I have serious doubts about someone having donated £4k, you will note the emphasis on donations remaining anonymous, I suspect the £4k will be the proceeds of the 5 years of fundraising efforts from PPAG but I guess we, and most of them, will never know.

[seanie]

They're not bringing the start date of the school forward anyway, they're seeing if they can bring completion forward. Basically they're asking the tendering contractors if they can build it in 18 months rather than 24.

[Porty]

BEWARE PROSPECTIVE PPAG DONORS

Some people have donated a hundred pounds or so whilst some others have donated £2,000 and one person £4,000. But it’s not a contest and all donations remain confidential. Also, as you would expect, this is a prudent target for us to aim for and any funds not needed will be returned to donors.

Firstly, unless I'm mistaken, this is the same Diana whio is heavily involved with PCATS who 5 years later, after helping defeat the superstore planning application, have still not returned substantial "not needed" financial donations to their donors.

Secondly, those who choose to donate may, will likely, get nothing for their money. PPAG could decide that donations are "needed" for pre court consultations with QC's etc. Any consultaion may conclude there is no viable case. Which after all is what the Councils QC(bothJunior and Senior) opinion states.

Donors stand to lose hundreds or thousands of pounds.Either because it will be pointlessly frittered away without any court case ever taking place or, as in the past, never be returned to its rightful owners.

[Pal of Porty]

They're not bringing the start date of the school forward anyway, they're seeing if they can bring completion forward. Basically they're asking the tendering contractors if they can build it in 18 months rather than 24.

Absolutely Seanie - this has nothing to do with the start date which will remain the same. PHS, requested exploring the possibility of getting the school built in time for the start of the academic year rather than having the interuption of moving into the new school during the following January when prelims etc are taking place. This was an educational request and has absolutely nothing to do with Common Good etc.

It is preposterous (to be polite) to suggest otherwise.

[Porty]

. They are trying to get the school started before we get to court.

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/ ... 6786678.jp

This means that we have a very small window in which to lodge the case in court. This is happening imminently and we are not likely to get a date for the case until September or October. This give us time to raise more money but we need to raise £50,000 in three months.]

IMirth.
Iff it were true that the window for taking court action closes when construction begins, All the council need do is send along six workies on monday, one of whom has a spase, and get them to start digging the foundations. According to Diana that woul be case closed. I see a fundamental flaw in the PPAG interpretation of non events.

[seanie]

From June 2009.

As Stephen McIntyre has noted, PPAG does intend to mount a legal challenge against the plan to build on Portobello Park. To date, fundraising events to finance this legal challenge have been extremely well supported, and this proves that many local people support PPAG and its stated aim – to protect Portobello Park from development.

Bit last minute given they announced they'd take legal action years ago.

[seanie]

From December 2008;

Campaigner Diana Cairns, of the Portobello Park Action Group (PPAG), gave a deputation over plans to build the new high school.

She said: "We have had advice to tell us we do have a case to challenge the council's own legal position and that is what we intend to do so this matter is far from over. We must not forget that the council are just stewards of this land on behalf of the people."

[seanie]

From April 2008;

Portobello Park Action Group (PPAG), which was set up to oppose plans to build the new school on the park, is now preparing to take its fight to court – and also believes it has a good case.

[seanie]

Surely it would've been better to launch any legal action back then. Given how advanced the project is, and the considerable resources already expended on it, I can't see the Courts being keen on interfering. Particularly when the Council's position is based on previous decisions from those self same Courts; that schools can be built on Common Good land without permission from the Courts.

[Bob Jefferson]

On the other hand, and I know this is particularly mean, I can't help feeling that maybe they deserve to lose their money?

[Porty]

. We have been fighting this for the last five years so it would be a great shame to fall at the final hurdle............................. Time to contact potential donors is short as we do not have time to raise funds through normal channels.

5 Years and not enough time? And all in the space of a couple of paragraphs. One couldn't make it up.`

Once the school is built I believe I would be only moderately surprised to learn of Council subterfuge; in the form of Double Agents. It certainly appears that they recruited one or two school in the park supporters to infiltrate PPAG. Ideally they would influence strategy and communications with a view to destroying the organisation's credibility from within.
If that does turn out to be the case then it has been a spectacular success. They surely couldn't have done more to nullify any threat PPAG may have posed?

It is encouraging to learn that fundraising from "normal channels" has failed to produce enough money. I'm pretty sure that they will also have exhausted any potential in both the Para and sub-normal. Indeed they may have proved the more fertile hunting grounds.

[Porty]

. We have been fighting this for the last five years so it would be a great shame to fall at the final hurdle.............................

It may be a great shame to fall at the final hurdle but surely PPAG must have built up some resilience over the years, having fallen at every other hurdle they attempted.

[seanie]

I hear the PPAG fundraising campaign may be targeting the organic market tomorrow.

[Makaveli]

I am currently overseas just now so didn't get a chance to go to the Organic Market today and the wife was busy so didn't get along either - was there any PPAG fundraiser's there?

[wangi]

Not that I saw

[Porty]

I was there but didn't spot any.

[seanie]

Portobello High School has been a divisive issue over the last few years, but whatever disagreements there have been, very few doubt that the school is in urgent need of replacement. The shortcomings of the existing campus are clear. The building itself is unfit for purpose and at the end of its useful life, but more significantly the site itself is fundamentally too small. It has never been big enough to accommodate the necessary facilities. Back in 2006, during the consultation on site options, what quickly became clear was that very few sites could redress this shortcoming. Most sites suggested were not viable; they were too small, badly located, not in Council ownership, or too costly to develop. In comparison, the pitch area of Portobello Park stood out.

Is it the ideal site for a new school? No; building on green space is never going to be ideal. But is this site the best of what were extremely limited options? Yes; it is well located within the catchment, is easily accessible, and most importantly finally establishes the school on a site big enough to sustain the necessary facilities. Portobello Park is the best available site.

Regrettably the new school will result in a loss of green space; few if any of us are keen to see that. But at the end of the day it comes down to whether the benefits to the community of the new school outweigh that loss. It’s not easy to satisfy everybody but the proposed design strikes a good balance, reflected in the fact that more local people supported the planning application than objected to it.

There will still be public open space, golfers will still golf, walkers will still be able to exercise whilst enjoying the views, and accessible all-weather pitches will be of far more use than the poor quality pitches at present. In addition to that 1400 children a year will finally get a first rate educational environment that will also benefit the wider community.

Which is why it is disappointing to see continued opposition to what is such an exciting prospect. There has long been talk of a legal challenge to building the school on the park, but little if any action. Now, with a new school so close, the Portobello Park Action Group have begun fundraising for a court action based on the Common Good status of the land. However there is comfort in the fact that any such challenge is likely to fail, as the Council’s position is based on recent rulings from the Court of Session itself.

In 2004 South Lanarkshire Council, and in 2006 North Lanarkshire Council, brought cases to the Inner and Outer Courts of Session respectively. They were seeking permission to build schools on Common Good land. In both cases the Courts dismissed the petitions as unnecessary; permission was not required. The Courts took the view that the disposal or alienation of Common Good land only occurred when “the community are deprived of the benefit of the land in question.” Since schools and playing fields constitute a benefit to the community, the Common Good status of the land remains unchanged. To be successful any legal action will need to establish, not that the Council is wrong, but that the Court of Session itself was wrong.

So the many people within our community who are enthusiastic about the prospect of a new Portobello High School have every reason to remain optimistic.


Admin: posts releated to PPAG's "Save Porty Park" campaign on Facebook, leafleting and flyposting have been split to the New Portobello High School - PPAG "Save Porty Park" on FB thread.