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New Dargavel school to be built after council pupils blunder

LDRS Dargavel Primary School in Bishopton opened in January this year with a capacity of 548LDRS
Dargavel Primary School in Bishopton opened in January 2022

A council that miscalculated the size of a new primary school says it has reached a deal for a second school.

Renfrewshire Council's blunder left families at Dargavel, a new-build estate in Bishopton, short of up to 1,000 primary places.

But it said an "agreement in principle" had now been made with landowners BAE Systems for the handover of a new school site for the village.

The school would take 800 pupils in a new catchment area.

It will also have an artificial sports pitch for community use and is expected to be built by August 2027.

Renfrewshire Council put the cost of building the school and extending the existing primary at £75m.

In a letter to parents at Dargavel Primary, the council's head of education Julie Calder said the project would move ahead immediately if plans were agreed.

She said: "We have now appointed space planners to help scope out what should be in the new school development.

"As part of that, they will seek the views of parents, carers and the community on what you want from the new facility."

Dargavel Primary
Dargavel Primary is too small for the new-build development of more than 4,000 homes

BAE are overseeing the building of more than 4,000 homes at Dargavel by 2034.

The new deal with BAE will transfer two further pieces of land on the site of the former Royal Ordnance factory in Bishopton to the council for £1.

One of these will be an 8.5 acre site for a new primary, the other is a 1.5 acre extension to the existing school, allowing it to increase pupil numbers.

The deal will also see the number of social rented homes at the estate cut from 336 to 243, and see four current planning applications decided for developers by 15 September.

Renfrewshire Council was branded "grossly incompetent" in an independent review following the opening of Dargavel Primary in January 2022.

The council admitted "significant errors" had been made with its forecasts and between 1,100 and 1,500 extra primary school places would be needed over the next decade.