New Wick High School - Site debate (merged threads)

[scorrie]

Why the sudden attack on me and the Parent Council?

You posted on this board that you had made enquiries re the ownership of the land and mentioned that you were looking for some legal help with the information you had. I would like to mention that the PC had in fact been in touch with Colin Rennie at Fields in Trust in July before you mentioned it on this board.

After your post on the org I contacted you on 22nd August and offered to take your information and have it checked out. I did this and replied to you on 24th August. I also mentioned about meeting up with you to discuss matters further. I then contacted you again by email on 8th September and you did not respond. I contacted you through the org and you responded on the 12th to say that you had been away in Paisley. You said you would read your emails and then get back to me. I had hoped you would contact me again before the public meeting. I didn't think it appropriate that I should hound you as you mentioned on the board that your mother was in hospital and you might perhaps not be able to attend the pubic meeting. The next contact I had from you was at 23.36 on Wednesday 15th September when you emailed me to say you felt we were ignoring you and being rude and that you were no longer interested in our findings and would be withdrawing your offer to help the campaign. I'm sorry you feel this way but I don't have a magic wand to make things happen as quick as you would seem to think they should.

The Parent Council appreciate any support they are given in their fight to stop a new school being built on the Bignold Park. The consultation does not close until 1st October and the PC are in the process of preparing a detailed submission. We had hoped to meet up with you as mentioned in our correspondence to you, and discuss your information further but as you have withdrawn your offer both on this board and by email, then so be it. You have accused us of ignoring you and being rude and I certainly object to that. We took your information on board and were dealing with it. The majority of people involved in this campaign have full-time jobs and other commitments and it is very difficult to organise a time that suits everyone, at short notice. Things were in hand but obviously not happening quick enough for you.

It would have been good to have had on board someone as passionate about the cause as yourself. It is disappointing that you have chosen now not to do so. That is your decision and I respect that. You can of course forward your own submission to the consultation to which I wish you every success.

It is not an attack and it is not sudden. When I first contacted you to offer help you took ages to reply. On other occasions there were long periods of silence. It doesn't take a minute to at least let someone know you have received their offer of help. My Wife asked me to forget about trying to help, as she thought it was very rude as well.

I don't know what point you are trying to make regarding contacting Colin Rennie. When I contacted him he knew nothing about the Bignold Park but offered to look into it for me. He received information from Highland Council regarding the ownership of the Bignold Park and shared it with me. If you already knew this from talking to Colin Rennie yourself, then why not just tell me that and explain that you didn't need my input? If he had done this for yourselves first, he would hardly have needed to re-apply to the Highland Council on my behalf. Mr Rennie offered to provide me with copies of documents previously submitted to other Scottish Councils, which were successful in averting proposed builds on similar sites. That is surely something you should either have told me you already possessed, or grabbed at the chance with both hands ASAP, rather than waiting for some sort of secret society meeting.

I have grown disillusioned by the amount of talking done by the Parent Council in ratio to actual action carried out. There has been a policy of secrecy and keeping cards close to the chest and in my opinion little, if anything has actually taken place that will prevent Highland Council from building on the Bignold Park. People are being fobbed off with the notion of questions being asked and The Highland Council answering them in Nov/Dec. The clock is ticking, and while I realise people have other things occupying their time, surely it is not too much to expect to prioritise the best chances of actually preventing a build on the Bignold Park.

I couldn't answer your email as I was in Paisley without access to the internet. That email was NOT an invitation to share my information in any case and amounted to no more than Chinese Whispers as far as I am concerned.

The dates marking the different stages of the process are passing by without any security being reached for the Bignold Park. It is all very well calling for patience but only the law can stop the Bignold from being used when it boils down to the reality. You have mentioned having "as much ammunition as possible", I think you will find you are firing a lot of blanks. The Highland Council have their own "In house" legal team and other Solicitors based in Edinburgh. They may look like they are bumbling along but I believe they know full well what the situation is and are leaking out the facts slowly and tactically and am still concerned that the School will end up on Bignold Park.

Anyway, I am weary of all of this and there is a large swathe of apathy from most of the people who don't either live near the Bignold or have a vested interest of sorts.

[bridgeend]

Have to agree with some of the points on here the PTA seem to have plenty of Talk but Very little real Action.
I Know of others that have offered Information but have never had any contact back from the PTA.
The only one that seems to back his words with actions is Ian Baikie he seems to be a one Man Band well done to him.

[Venture]

Have to agree with some of the points on here the PTA seem to have plenty of Talk but Very little real Action.
I Know of others that have offered Information but have never had any contact back from the PTA.
The only one that seems to back his words with actions is Ian Baikie he seems to be a one Man Band well done to him.

Now that makes little sense. You say that the Parent Council (it's not the PTA) seem to have plenty talk and very little action. As Chairman, Iain Baikie is the main spokesperson for the PC therefore his words and actions are those of the PC. Give us an example of what actions you expect from the PC?

[Venture]

Anyway, I am weary of all of this

........not half as weary as I am after two and a half years down the line of putting up with all those who think they know it all and can do better, particularly those on this forum who hide behind keyboards. Since February 2008, when this campaign started, we have asked for more people to get involved. They never do.

I'm bowing out of any further communication with you, I'm not interested in adding any more to your "I have been ignored by the PC" saga. My time is better spent elsewhere fighting for the best school possible for the pupils, preferably not on the Bignold Park.

[wick]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...lands-11543629

So...Highland Council's consultation was fundamentally flawed due to there being insufficient detail provided about the new school in Lochaber.

I hope that the consultation process for our new school doesn't end up being "flawed" in some way or another, leading to even more delays