Ae school in “diabolical” state

Jul 27 2011 by Jackie Grant, Dumfries Standard Wednesday

A VILLAGE primary school is in a “diabolical state” after being allowed to rot.

But a red tape row prevents willing Ae residents from making improvements to the building themselves.

They have been banned from carrying out any refurbishments because of health and safety fears.

Upper Nithsdale Councillor Andrew Wood feels like he’s “losing the battle” with the education authority after offers to paint the 14-pupil school were knocked back.

He said: “The school has serious problems with rotting window frames and the exterior badly needs painted.

“I tried to get the education authority to let us paint it but was knocked back for health and safety reasons.

“I can’t understand why the council can supply communities with equipment to grit their own pavements in winter, but won’t let communities who take pride in their schools make minor improvements.”

He added: “The education authority doesn’t respond in a positive way to these ideas and I feel like I’m losing the battle.

“They would rather come up with any old excuse than embrace these positive ideas.”

Councillor Wood claims that the authority’s stance could even be putting the pupils’ safety at risk.

“These buildings from the 1980s had a bit of asbestos in them and as they’re not getting painted or maintained, there could be asbestos blowing around the area and around these children,” he said.

“The school is as rough as sin. We are offering a freebie here that could save the council money but they are not prepared to allow it.

“If they considered community ideas like this, they might not have to look at making people redundant.”

Ae Community Council Chairman Jimmy Scott described the school as being in a diabolical state.

He said: “The windows are falling out, the roof is in a dangerous condition. It’s a disaster.

“There’s no way it should have been left to get into this condition through a lack of maintenance by the council.

“The community wants to help improve the look of the school but we’re told that would interfere with the (school maintenance) contractor’s obligations. But if there’s nobody else going to do it, what’s the problem?”

He added: “Externally it’s in a diabolical state. It will soon struggle to be wind and watertight.

“If there’s a blast of wind at the back end of the year, the glass will blow out and children could be hurt.

“The school is the hub of our community and is also used for meetings, bingo nights and whist drives.

“At the end of the day, it’s also our village hall, and if we want to try and improve it when the council doesn’t, surely we shouldn’t be blocked from doing so.”

A spokeswoman for Dumfries and Galloway Council said community helpers could get involved but stressed that no work can take place without consultation on health and safety concerns.

She added: “As the school headteacher would be responsible for this, they must as a minimum be certificated through the Managing Safely IOSH training course.

“The condition of all our schools are assessed using the same agreed criteria, which forms the basis for prioritising our investment. Ae Primary currently sits outwith the list of schools requiring urgent investment.

“However, we take these concerns very seriously and a council representative will visit the school in the coming weeks to carry out further investigations.”