Meeting of the Parliament 09 January 2014
I declare an interest as a City of Edinburgh councillor from 2007 to 2012; a current Lothian MSP; and a board member of Fields in Trust.
The controversy over Portobello park goes back many years and has been deeply divisive for the community. During my time as a councillor, I was very critical of the way in which the council had handled the decision on whether a replacement high school should be built on the common good land that is the park. I visited the school at that time and shared with parents and young people a real desire to replace the 1960s Portobello high school, which was poorly designed in the first place and has not stood the test of time or been adequately maintained.
However, I believe that the council has been too dismissive and, at times, disrespectful of those in the community who did not want the school built on the park. Regardless of where anyone stands on this debate, it is important that they are able to state a position without fear of ridicule or demonisation, otherwise the process of moving on after a conclusion is reached becomes so much harder.
Hindsight is a great thing but it is clear that, had we all known in 2005 what we know now, a different set of options and potential paths would have been followed, and a new school would now be up and running and delivering the quality secondary education that our young people need and deserve. However, we are now in 2014. The need for a new high school has grown, not diminished. The condition of the school has worsened. I am no longer a councillor but, as an MSP, I have to take a position on this private bill, which is the council’s way of dealing with the common good status of the park that would otherwise prevent a school from being built there.
It is no longer 2005. Nine years have passed since the council first made its decision. The choices that we face now, with so much water having flowed under the bridge, are different. The school has planning permission to be built in the park and a contractor is in place to do that. Community consultation a year ago had a massive response and a fairly hefty majority in favour of building in the park. However many criticisms one can level at the community consultation, it is difficult to argue that the will of the community is other than that which emerged from the consultation.
In the unique circumstances in which we now find ourselves and having weighed up all the issues over a long period, I will support the bill today but seek strengthening of assurances and protections concerning the future of the site itself and the compensatory green space. The issue now is the conditions that are attached to the school being built at one end of the park. What assurances can be secured that new playing fields will always be accessible to the community at large? What certainty is there that, once the new St John’s school is built, the old high school site will be transformed into high-quality green and open space to be enjoyed for generations to come? The council has moved some distance on those matters, but they must now be secured for the long term. More generally, I want to be sure that, even with a school in place, the land on which the school sits remains common good land and, crucially, that the decision made by MSPs in this case does not establish a precedent for other common good land in Scotland.
I lodged an amendment to today’s motion to see whether Parliament would be prepared to take a view at this stage on some of those concerns. My amendment has not been selected for debate, but I welcome the committee’s recommendation that the bill should be amended to strengthen protection of the site’s common good status and I urge committee members to pursue the issues raised as the bill moves forward.
High-quality schooling is essential to Edinburgh’s future success, as with any city, but so is an appreciation of the need to preserve and enhance Edinburgh’s green recreational spaces. There is an opportunity here to build a positive future in both regards and I trust that, in time, the city village of Portobello will regain all the cohesion that makes it such a special part of the city.
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