New Portobello High School - PPAG/"Save Porty Park"

[Franck]

[seanie]

My 'arrogance' is a subjective opinion. Your 'ignorance' is an objective fact.

[Franck]

[seanie]

You've been provided with links to the landscape plan, showing where the paths are and the extent of the school. Inform yourself.

[Puerto bella]

Have you guys met in real life? Would love to see that. When's the next TP night out?

[seanie]

[seanie]

[seanie]

Easier and cheaper for self appointed community groups to challenge decisions taken by due process? Decisions that, on the evidence available, more people in the community support than object to? Decisions that, when upheld by the courts to be legitimate, those 'community groups' then complain that the courts are biased?

Short of giving these self appointed community groups a veto, even when more local people support than object to a proposal, it's difficult to see any change that would keep them happy.

[seanie]

Of course the "25% of Portobello's parkland" has been discussed before.

PPAG want a suitably shocking figure for the loss of local parkland, but not too shocking.

Tell people it's 25% and the reaction might be; "Oh, that's awful".

Tell people it's 50% and the reaction might be; "Oh, that doesn't sound right".

Now if you look at local parks within reasonable proximity to the site then yes, you're looking at something over 50Ha, with the school taking up less than 10% of that. So how to get that percentage up?

They’re obviously going to discount the Jewel and Bingham. Even though they’re relatively close to the site, and so clearly relevant in terms of the impact on amenity, they’re in the Craigmillar ward. So the Portobello Park Action Group couldn’t give two stuffs about them. That’s why they suggested them as suitable alternative sites for the school back in 2006.

They probably would’ve liked to have excluded Figgate Park on the basis that it’s not in Portobello either; it’s in the Duddingston ward. However, most people would regard Figgate as a local park, a pretty outstanding one at that, and if the percentage they come up with is too high people might start querying what’s been excluded. Also PPAG did get a lot of strife for suggesting it as a suitable location for St John’s; on “the flat, featureless bit of ground” that now contains the wildflower meadow. So reluctantly they’ve included it to avoid awkward questions.

But they’ve then excluded the 14.4Ha of Portobello Park that has the golf course on it; it’s not ‘precious parkland’ to the Portobello Park Action Group because of the pesky golfers.

That leaves;

Rosefield Park - 1.34Ha
Brighton Park - 0.86Ha
Abercorn Park - 0.79Ha
Portobello Community Garden - 0.13Ha
Straiton Park - 0.35Ha
Joppa Quarry Park - 2.42Ha
Figgate Park - 10.97Ha
Portobello pitches – 5.60Ha

That’s 22.46Ha, of which the 5.6Ha of the Portobello Park pitches are 24.9%.

[Puerto bella]

They should've got you to sort out the trams.

[seanie]

I know nothing about trams.

[Pal of Porty]

[Puerto bella]

[seanie]

I suspect there's a fine line between admiration and utter contempt.

[Epykat]

[seanie]

I endeavour to persevere...

[Porty]

I admire you more for your adherence to facts than i do your determination. Not just on the schools issue. Soon as i see a name calling or a backhanded compliment i think: he's done them again.

[Bob Jefferson]

Yeah, you can see why PPAG hate him. He has cut and pasted them into a corner so many times.

[Puerto bella]

I think you're probably overestimating the power of the cut and paste Bob. I look at those screeds of cut and pastes and come to another conclusion.
I admire people who clearly have convinction and are prepared to go that extra mile and devote so much of their own time to a cause but just hope that they get the balance right.

[Makaveli]

What is DC's problem?

Does she have a default setting to reject any progress in Porty?

[Porty]

She has got the balance wrong.

[seanie]

I think the underlying issue is sometimes forgotten; that the school is in very poor condition, isn't fit for purpose, and needs replacing fairly urgently. That's the fundamental problem that needs addressing.

[seanie]

I also think there's a tendency to exaggerate how contentious the issue is. I think those very much in favour, and those very much against, are probably both in the minority. I think the largest section of opinion is probably reluctantly OK with it; they're not keen to build on green space, but if the school needs replacing and that's the best site then fair enough, because schools are important and the park isn't that well used anyway.

[Pal of Porty]

I do not think the community is split and feel that forums like this and on Facebook, for example most certainly do not reflect the community at large. I have however detected a shift in the way that PPAG are viewed **** since they launched their last minute court action with many 'nuetral' and 'passive supporters' of the school now voicing their unease and disatisfaction.

**** Source: 5 customers in the shop and two people in Porty High Street - PoP, "A shift in the way that PPAG are viewed" September 2011.

[regent]

[seanie]

Well I'm no more pleasant I'n real life, I can assure you of that.

[Bob Jefferson]

I can vouch for this.

[gilo]

[regent]

[regent]

Rather I was suggesting that how language is used online can be devoid of the social niceties of face to face communication. Texting is an example with abreviated words etc.

[Epykat]

[Porty]

Not if thats the way one sets ones stall out.

Identification is often misconstrued as name calling. Harsh truth can be a bitter pil
ll to swallow. Lol!

[Puerto bella]

Karma's a wonderful thing.

[Epykat]

[Porty]

BTW what's Golf Delta got to do with it?