In June 2018 the Council agreed to invest £10m into building a new Bangholm sports facility and to develop detailed plans for refurbishment at Trinity Academy. We think this is a good time to update you on what’s happened in the past year and the status of the Council’s plans as we understand them.
The Council plans to invest in the school in what they are calling two phases:
Phase 1 – Redeveloping the Bangholm sports facilities. The budget for this already exists (thanks to our campaign) and it may follow the schedule below.
Phase 2 – Refurbish or replace the remaining school buildings. At the present time there is no budget for this and no forecast for when this may be available.
Feasibility studies into Phase 2 have been carried out and, while no decisions have been taken, the Council is considering where to site the buildings for Phase 2. One option is for the school to be built entirely at Bangholm. Another option would involve the Phase 2 buildings being built on the existing school site, by refurbishment of the existing school or with new buildings being built on the site.
What do we know?
- Development of the new Bangholm facilities is continuing and the aspiration is to complete this in December 2021. That date means it may benefit next years S1-S4 students.
- We know that operating a split site across Bangholm and the existing site presents a significant challenge to running the school curriculum.
- We are told that the design of Bangholm will allow it to be used by community groups including the facilities required by Trinity Academicals, WIT and Outdoor Learning.
- There are currently no plans for the new Bangholm facilities to include a swimming pool.
- We are told that the design of Bangholm will allow it to be used with any of the three options for redeveloping or replacing the easy of the school facilities under Phase 2.
Our local Councillors, including the Depute Leader, have committed to making the decision between moving to Bangholm or redeveloping the existing site during this calendar year.
Next steps
- Push the Council to publish a ‘masterplan’ for the plans covering all the options.
- Campaign to prioritise a budget for Phase 2.
- Campaign to ensure that the school receives the investment it needs in the interim to ensure existing students are not disadvantaged.
- Continue working with the school and Council to try to ensure the design of Phase 1 and Phase 2 meet the needs of the students, their families, staff and the community.