New Portobello High School - on going issues

[allaboardtheskylark]

[Porty]

[allaboardtheskylark]

Like the proposals or not, there is now a chance for all to go along and view the plans and offer suggestions and comments in a relaxed environment before the public meeting circus starts again.

They are making the effort to ask questions, be nice if they got loads of sensible responses.

[Porty]

[Pal of Porty]

[allaboardtheskylark]

[Porty]

[Bob Jefferson]

Flier being distributed by the Council to publicise the consultation:

[Porty]

All seems reasonable and comprehensive. Although I can't see mention of the meeting allaboardtheskylark refers to?

[Bob Jefferson]

And this is the leaflet that PFANS will be distributing to parents of children in the feeder primaries and local nurseries:

[allaboardtheskylark]

There was a meeting held on Tuesday with the Chair of the PCC, the Secretary of the PCC and the Council about the public meeting.

Obviously it was an oversight the office bearers never informed the PCC about this meeting until questioned at the end of the PCC meeting.

Hope that makes sense.

[seashell]

[seanie]

[Pal of Porty]

[Porty]

[Porty]

[Bob Jefferson]

[seanie]

I think some of the opposition perfectly understandable. If you live next to the Park and like the view out of your window then yes, I can see why you might not be too keen on the pnew school. Add to that the continued distortions and misinformation about the proposals.

Even now, the front page of the PPAG website talks about the "council's proposal to build housing" on the park, even though that suggestion was dropped over four years ago.

[allaboardtheskylark]

This after a fairly unpleasant start to the consultation is now starting to look very positive and very real. Finally starting to believe this is going to happen.

[allaboardtheskylark]

Seanie, looks like PPAG are still pushing the housing angle and of course it is school(s) on the park not school.

The goal's they consistently achieve are own goal's.

Perhaps they should try telling the truth or just give and figgate the whole thing.

[Porty]

[Maria]

[Bob Jefferson]

[Porty]

[seashell]

[Bob Jefferson]

Please show your support for the new school by adding the Facebook Page I have just set up:

[Bob Jefferson]

This is a pdf of some of the display material that is being used in the exhibition at Portobello Library. More drawings to follow as and when I receive them.

[seanie]

My own thoughts so far;

OPEN SPACE IMPROVEMENTS
• Improve walking opportunities by developing a proper path network around the golf-course, particularly the woodland to the western edge, between the school and golf-course, and between the school and Milton Road.
• Portobello attracts a significant number of people from outside the area, particularly teenagers and young people who perceive it as a safe place. However there is little in terms of public facilities for this age group. Recreational spaces for teenagers should be developed close to or on the Prom e.g. the civic space adjacent to the Bridge Street car park (CIV 16); the amenity space at Rathbone Place (AM 56); the eastern portion of Straiton Place amenity space (AM 57).
• Develop a focal point on the wide section of the Prom opposite the Portobello Community Garden (PG 26) e.g. interactive water feature/pavement fountains.
• Develop a linear Skate/BMX park along the Seafield stretch of the Promenade.
• Improve Jewel Park (PG21) and the adjacent green corridor (GRE 3, GRE 11, GRE 2, GRE 9).
• Improve accessibility to Cavalry Park as a multi-pitch venue.
• Incorporate a publicly accessible synthetic pitch as part of the alteration and extension of Towerbank Primary School.
• Incorporate a publicly accessible synthetic pitch as part of St John’s Primary School, on an expanded site, following the demolition of PHS.
• Improve disabled access to Portobello Beach with ramped access and occasional boardwalks.
• Improve pitch quality at Joppa Quarry Park (PF 4).
• Locate toddler/junior play spaces to SE & NW corner of Portobello Park
• Re-instate hard games court on the site of the former tennis courts in Rosefield Park.
SPORTS FACILITIES
• Two pitches will only support the school’s curriculum needs and community use if they are full sized, both synthetic, and to 3G standard.
• Pitches are best orientated on a NNW-SSE alignment but the importance of that should not be over-stated, particularly if synthetic and floodlit. A greater priority should be what arrangement results in the greatest benefit overall, bearing in mind the residual public Open Space and walking opportunities around the Park.
• At least one of the pitches should be freely accessible to the public outside of school hours i.e. not requiring booking.
SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL/TRAFFIC/PARKING
• An analysis of likely travel patterns and routes to school should be undertaken to identify locations where safety improvements are required.
• Crossing points to Milton Road and elsewhere should be increased.
• Cycle routes should be identified highlighting where cycle lanes/priority should be introduced. Sufficient cycle parking should be provided.
• A traffic assessment should be undertaken for the surrounding area and a management plan devised, in particular for Milton Road.
• A strategy for safe vehicular access to and egress from the school should be demonstrated, for both regular and occasional patterns of use (coaches etc).
• Drop-off zones should be discouraged.
• Whilst the school will inevitable require parking facilities these should not be excessive, especially given the excellent public transport links to the site. Given the slope of the site, staff parking could be incorporated in undercrofts to maximise public space around the building.
LANDSCAPING
• The school should have a strong presence as a public building, not isolated behind security fences. As such the external spaces and landscaping around the building are of great importance. A layering of spaces, from fully public to exclusive to the school, should be sought.
• The area between the school and Milton Road should act as a buffer space, allowing east-west movement set back from the road for both pupils and public, as well as providing spaces to congregate.
• The area between the school and golf-course should also allow east-west movement for pupils and public, but also form an effective barrier to movement across the golf-course. The woodland strip should be maintained and enhanced.
• Berms & changes in level should be introduced along the golf-course/public path/school to improve visual and acoustic separation and create natural boundaries without a reliance on fences.
• Informal gathering/seating/covered areas should be provided around the external perimeter of the school for both pupil and public use.
• Public seating should be maintained to the SE corner of the park so that the protected view to Arthur’s Seat can continue to be enjoyed.
SUSTAINABLILITY
• The sustainability of the design should be demonstrated; that current needs will be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
• This should include information on; the social and educational advantages of the new school; how the design will support learning, teaching and the Curriculum For Excellence; the extent to which the building itself will be a learning tool; how the facilities can benefit the wider community; the flexibility and adaptability of the design; ICT provision; anticipated energy use; passive low energy design measures; daylighting, acoustics and ventilation; anticipated water demand; sustainable drainage; renewable technologies; specification of materials; means to encourage sustainable transport; future-proofing of the building; anticipated life-cycles of the building elements; opportunities to promote bio-diversity.

[Bob Jefferson]

He's good, isn't he? Have you ever thought of being an architect, seanie? Designing schools perhaps?

Do you think the architects involved will be genuinely excited about this development? Will they see it as an opportunity to come up with an award-winning design that will enhance their reputation and set the benchmark for schools to follow? Or are they pretty much constrained by budget? We all want the very best, but just how good do you expect the new school to be?

[seanie]

Buildings, perhaps without exception, are compromises. The quality of a design lies, in may ways, in how well those compromises are handled.

Truth be told, the site chosen is not ideal, largely because of its size; a slightly bigger site would've offered more opportunities. If the option to relocate the golf-course had been pursued then there really would've been an opportunity to combine a school and a park in a way that could've been outstanding.

However the proposed relocation was all tied up with financing through development on the park so it's perfectly understandable why there was resistance and that aspect was dropped.

But even as things stand the current proposals could be very special. Certainly the new school will be a vast improvement on the current facilities and, in a perverse way, the financial problems that have delayed the project could ultimately be beneficial. This will not be a PPP/PFI school. It's being procured through more traditional means.

For the architects involved, given the general experience over the last 15 years of PFI/PPP, I'd think they'd be overjoyed at the opportunity here.

[allaboardtheskylark]

From the very early stages it has been obvious the architects are excited about this project. They are working with and for the customers and have made it abundantly clear they are delighted to do so.

I am confident all their experience gained from the last few years will be used to full effect without the constraints of PFI/PPP or whatever. This will be one of the very best school buildings in Scotland.

Bar none.

ps good work seanie.

[Bob Jefferson]

[seanie]

[Puerto bella]

[seanie]