Primary school rebuilds get go-ahead
Published Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Planning approval has been granted for the building of two more primary schools.
David Livingstone Memorial in Blantyre and Glengowan in Larkhall have now been given approval as part of the council's ongoing Primary Schools Modernisation Programme.
The new £9.9million Glengowan primary will be built on a new site in the town's Summerlee Road which was formerly one of the council's roads depots.
It's hoped that work on the 14-classroom school will get underway next month with the entire project taking approximately one year to complete.
The proposed two-storey building will also have a gym hall, kitchen and dining area, ICT suite and library and a pre-school nursery. Plans are also in place for car parking, playground, extensive landscaping plus an 'outdoor classroom' and multi-use pitch. Two column-mounted CCTV cameras will also be sited to the north-west and south-west corners of the site.
Proposals for the replacement £6.6m David Livingstone Memorial primary will involve the demolition of the existing Morven Avenue premises which will be rebuilt and include a nursery.
The new school will be mainly single-storey with 13 classrooms and will also have a gym/assembly hall, library, kitchen, meeting rooms, and an Additional Support Needs (ASN) base.
Playground areas and a proposed multi-use pitch will be located from the central courtyard out towards Morven Avenue beyond which will be a grass area for sports.
The main vehicle access for staff and services will continue to be taken from Lime Grove with additional access for cars and pedestrians, along with a drop-off area and visitor car park, entering from Morven Avenue.
Work is expected to start on site in November with pupils decanted to alternative accommodation throughout the build period.
Councillor Graham Scott, the chair of the Planning Committee, said: "The council is currently in the process of reviewing the Primary Schools Modernisation Programme to carefully consider how best to continue to deliver the project given the tough financial climate we face.
"Nonetheless, this decision marks another step forward in a project which has already put more than 10,000 of our primary school children - more than 40% - in 21st century learning environments."
