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The Courier
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Courier
Cut to Dundee classroom roles sparks concerns over support for pupils
Concerns have been raised about a lack of support for Dundee school pupils after several classroom positions were cut. At least seven temporary support roles have been lost in the city due to reductions in funding. The Courier understands three secondary schools – Morgan, Harris and St Paul's Academies – are affected. The staff mainly help teachers in supporting pupils with their health and wellbeing, including those with additional support needs. The move comes after a cut in the amount of money Dundee City Council has received in recent years from the Scottish Government's Attainment Challenge fund – a move that was condemned at the time by city councillors. Kevin Keenan, leader of the opposition Labour group on the council, said: 'We have now seen around £4.2 million taken from the education department's budget over the last three years at around £1.4m per year. 'I am now advised that seven or more health and wellbeing workers will have their posts deleted. 'This causes me great concern over things like increasing attacks on teachers and disruption for pupils. 'I don't understand why we, as a council/education authority, would be looking to pay off these workers, given certain factors.' Mr Keenan says it is particularly concerning given the rise in the number of children with suspected neurodivergent conditions, along with changes to the way NHS Tayside deals with referrals for conditions like autism and ADHD. He has also highlighted a report from the teaching union NASUWT, highlighting the impact of a lack of funding is having on those with additional support needs in the classroom. Mr Keenan added: 'Without support, there will be an increase in disruption in the classroom. 'We have a changing and challenging landscape where a large number of external factors are likely to deliver less than we would hope for the children in this city.' He wants Audrey May, executive director of the children and families service at the council, to report back to the council's education committee within four months 'giving a true reflection about the effect the cuts are starting to have and will have in future on our schools and staff'. A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: 'Following a reallocation of Attainment Challenge Fund monies, funding is no longer available for several temporary posts in Dundee. 'We can confirm that no compulsory redundancies have resulted from this change.'
STV News
13-05-2025
- General
- STV News
Support structures to be built at RAAC-affected homes under pilot scheme
Plans for a pilot scheme to build support structures at Dundee homes with potentially dangerous concrete (RAAC) have been approved by councillors. The local authority's housing committee met on Monday to discuss a tender for the £500,000 scheme. Work will now be carried out at five void council properties in the city. This will see a supporting deck built under the RAAC-affected roofs in each of these houses to ensure they are fully supported and made structurally redundant. The local authority will then test these to see if they can be rolled out en masse across the city. In addition to the pilot project, the RAAC within communal areas in five properties in Menzieshill will have their redundant roof-mounted water tanks decommissioned. The work will begin in June and is scheduled to be completed in August During Monday's meeting, Labour group leader Kevin Keenan lodged an amendment calling for council chiefs to write to the Scottish housing and finance ministers in a bid to seek financial assistance for RAAC-affected homeowners. But committee convener councillor Kevin Cordell said he could not accept the amendment in its entirety. Instead, he agreed to invite the Scottish ministers to Dundee for further discussions on the RAAC crisis. RAAC was commonly used in the construction industry in the 1960s and 1970s. However, concerns over its limited lifespan have prompted fears of structural collapse in extreme cases if water gets through cracks. Hundreds of homes across Dundee have been found to contain RAAC. Dundee City Council previously said it had carried out numerous inspections across the city – finding RAAC present in 81 blocks of flats and 293 cottages. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Courier
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
£500k Dundee Raac pilot scheme approved
A pilot project which Dundee City Council hope will make homes safe from Raac has been approved. Councillors on the local authority's housing committee met on Monday to discuss a tender for the £500,000 scheme. The project will see remedial works carried out on Raac roofs in five void council properties in the city. This will involve installing a new roof structure directly below the Raac, ensuring the concrete is fully supported and made structurally redundant. In addition to the pilot project, the Raac within communal areas in five properties in Menzieshill will have their redundant roof-mounted water tanks decommissioned. These have been chosen as they are currently in a 'poor condition' according to a paper which went before the committee. Dundee-based Morrison Construction have been selected as the preferred bidder due to their 'experience in delivering RAAC projects for private and public sector clients'. The project will begin next month and run until August. However, councillor Kevin Keenan – who leads the Labour group on the local authority – called for dialogue to be opened with the Scottish housing and finance ministers over potential funding which could be made available to homeowners effected by Raac. During Monday's meeting, he proposed an amendment asking the committee to allow the council's chief executive to write to the ministers to ask for financial assistance. And whilst committee convener councillor Kevin Cordell said he could not accept the amendment in its entirety; he agreed to invite the ministers to Dundee to discuss the Raac crisis. Housing minister Paul McLennan has previously pledged to Dundee Raac campaigners he would visit the city. His promise followed a similar visit to Aberdeen earlier this month where he met homeowners and tenants in the Torry area of the city whose homes face demolition. No date has been set for the Dundee visit. The Courier has launched our Trapped by Raac campaign to help those affected by the burgeoning crisis and have the issue debated by government. We're asking readers to sign this petition to give campaigners a voice at parliament.
The Courier
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
What happens next at Caird Park after closure of golf courses?
The final putts have been sunk and the flags have been removed – so what happens next to Caird Park after the closure of its two golf courses? The 18-hole and nine-hole courses at the Dundee park shut on Wednesday in a move designed to save Leisure and Culture Dundee money. With the debate about whether or not the courses should have been closed now over, The Courier examines what the future holds for one of the city's most prominent areas of public land. Leisure and Culture Dundee's board agreed to close the Caird Park courses because they were losing money. Although, as of March 2024, membership of the courses was up 4.7% on the previous year, it was claimed the number of rounds played was down by 7.5% and that every round was being subsidised by taxpayers at a cost of £9.10. As a result, it was said to be 'financially challenging' to run the facilities. Councillors ratified the decision by LACD to close the courses to save more than £400,000 a year, and the final rounds were played at the end of April. The Courier exclusively revealed back in December how a golf firm had drawn up 'exciting' plans that could see the sport retained at Caird Park. The unnamed company had expressed an interest in taking over the running of the courses in a partnership with the local authority. Its plans included upgrading the existing courses, building a driving range and creating an 18-hole mini golf course. However, these proposals have gone quiet since, and the idea of funding the development by selling some of the Caird Park land for housing could prove to be a stumbling block. The option of replacing all, or even some, of the former golf courses with housing seems very unlikely for a variety of reasons. The Dundee Local Development Plan designates Caird Park and its golf courses as open space and part of its Green Network. This is the same status given to other popular areas like Baxter Park, Camperdown Park, Balgay Park and the Law. The development plan – a land use strategy that informs planning decisions – says that 'development proposals shall protect and enhance the Dundee Green Network by ensuring that development will not lead to the fragmentation of the existing network of green infrastructure'. It also says plans to change the use of a green space such as Caird Park 'should establish that the site no longer has a potential value as green infrastructure'. Any developers looking to build on the land would need to jump through numerous other hoops, including replacing the lost green space with a new area 'of equal benefit and accessibility… in or adjacent to the community most directly affected'. Given the city's two other former municipal courses – another nine-holer at Caird Park and the old 18-holer at Camperdown – have never been sold for housing, it further suggests this idea is a non-starter. Kevin Keenan, leader of the council's opposition Labour group, said: 'When the Regional Performance Centre was built (in Caird Park), I think they needed a special application. 'This land was gifted to the people and it becomes difficult as to how you can repurpose it.' For the foreseeable, the land at Caird Park will be left to become overgrown – similar to Camperdown Park. Mr Keenan said: 'All the talk about Caird Park when the decision was made by the administration to close it was around rewilding the park. 'I suppose that means, 'let's just let it get overgrown'. 'Obviously it's a huge park, and it's very much being wasted when you consider that exercise was being taken by quite a number of people playing rounds of golf there.' However, Dundee City Council has hinted it is considering potential alternative leisure uses by 'interested parties'. It has not specified what these uses are and whether any of them involve golf. But it suggests some of the land could be brought back into use in the future. A spokesperson for the local authority told The Courier: 'The city governance committee agreed on December 2 last year that when the golf course ceases operation, there would be parkland greenspace maintenance with higher level of naturalised grass areas to support biodiversity development. 'The location will also contribute to the city's environmental objectives as defined within the Local Biodiversity Action Plan. 'This valuable greenspace will support Dundee's wider nature network, with increased biodiversity, habitat and climate-resilient woodland development areas, as nature restoration funding becomes available. 'Submissions from interested parties are also currently being appraised regarding alternative leisure development of areas within the park and any recommendations would be considered at a future committee.'
