18 November 2016

Public meeting on emerging proposals for new Peterhead Community Campus

Communities in Peterhead and the surrounding area will get their first chance to see and comment on emerging proposals for a new Peterhead Community Campus at an event next week.

A public meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 22 between 7-9pm in the Assembly Hall at Peterhead Academy where officers will share the current potential site options for the campus and gather views on them.

So far, officers have been investigating potential sites for the provision of nursery, primary and secondary education, provision for primary and secondary pupils with additional support needs and leisure and community facilities.

However these requirements are not set in stone and will be reassessed based on community feedback on the proposals.

Chair of the council’s Education, Learning & Leisure Committee, Cllr Alison Evison, said: “What we want to see in Aberdeenshire is equity of education provision across the whole area.

“So council officers have been hard at work to consider a range of options to enhance our school and community buildings in Peterhead to make sure they meet the needs of our young people and wider community.

“As part of this process it is vital that we get as many views as possible so we can develop requirements, not only for Peterhead Academy but also for primary schools in the area, for pupils with additional support needs and in terms of community and leisure facilities.

“Of course any new building isn’t going to go up overnight but this is the first step in a very exciting process and we can only get it right for the community in Peterhead if we hear from them.”

Chair of the Buchan Area Committee, Cllr Stuart Pratt, said: “Investigations of different potential sites for a new campus have been carried out and we’re now weighing up the positives and negatives of each which is where the community comes in.

“The council will be making the same information discussed at the meeting available on their website for anyone who cannot attend the meeting and we’ll be gathering feedback until the end of the year so when a final decision on the site is made community comments can be taken into account.”

Following the event information on the emerging plans will be available online.

Feedback from the local community will be gathered until 31 December 2016 after which it will be gathered and reported to councilors so a decision on the preferred site can be made in due course.

Members of the public can submit their feedback by emailing learningestates@aberdeenshire.gov.uk