SNP councillors call for a Bishopbriggs school merger plans to be scrapped

East Dunbartonshire Council are meeting to vote on plans to merge Auchinairn and Woodhill primaries, in Bishopbriggs, into a new building on the current Woodhill site.

Bishopbriggs councillor Gordan Low told the Herald that coalition Lib Dem, Conservative and Labour councillors should listen to the opinions of the local community who want the merger scrapped.

And he compared the plans with a similar scheme to merge two schools in Milngavie and Bearsden - which WAS abandoned last year.

He said: “At the previous informal consultation stage, the planned merger was rejected by the communities of both Auchinairn and Woodhill, and publication of the statutory consultation report just before Christmas confirmed the overwhelming opposition of parents at both schools to a proposal that will cause immeasurable damage to Auchinairn.

“Auchinairn School plays a central role in the life of the local community, and if we’re serious about developing locally-based services to support a target regeneration area, we need to start working with the local community and listening to what they’re saying.

“Twice the council has asked the community what they think of these proposals, and twice they’ve been soundly rejected. “The council should now have the good grace to accept that verdict.

“If it’s good enough for Bearsden and Milngavie, it’s good enough for Auchinairn and Woodhill.”