Dargavel Primary parent and carer update
Welcome
I am writing to you with a further update on our work to secure a site for an additional primary school in Dargavel Village.
I am pleased to confirm we have reached an agreement in principle with the landowners BAE Systems, which — subject to approval by councillors — will give us our preferred site for the new school, plus additional land next to the current Dargavel Primary.
 New school site
The new 8.5-acre school site is located near the north end of Craigton Drive (shown above). The chosen site met all our criteria, which are:
- Big enough to house an 800-capacity primary school
- Centrally located, easy to reach from existing and planned housing, and in a location which will encourage families to walk or cycle to school
- Far enough away from the existing school site to allow us to create two separate catchment areas, and for the new school to develop its own identity
- Able to house new facilities — this will include an artificial sports pitch, which will be available for community use out of school hours
Members of the council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board are being asked to approve the content of our agreement with BAE Systems when they meet on Wednesday 30 August.
Planning impact of the agreement is set out in a separate report tabled for consideration by councillors on Tuesday 29 August at the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board.
If agreed, we and BAE Systems will immediately move forward with the work needed to deliver the new school. We have now appointed space planners to help scope out what should be in the new school development.
As part of that, they will over the coming weeks seek the views of parents, carers and the community on what you want from the new facility, allowing your feedback to be factored into the design. That will include how the building could be used by the community outside school hours.
BAE Systems will get the land ready for construction, connect power and water connections to the site, and build the required access roads. They will cover the costs of this work.
We estimate the new school will be ready to welcome pupils for the start of the school year in August 2027, but are looking at all options to bring that timescale forward if we can.
Land next to current school
The agreement with BAE Systems also includes the transfer of 1.5 acres of land to the east of the existing Dargavel Primary School (shown on the map).
This will give us the flexibility to create more play and social space for pupils, and the potential for the school to be extended in future, should this ever be needed.
Wider Dargavel development
Our agreement with BAE Systems will see the two pieces of land mentioned above transferred to the council for a nominal cost of £1. As part of that, we have agreed to:
- Confirm the total capacity of the Dargavel masterplan will be 4,322 homes (around 2,300 of which are already built). This is the total we have based our projections for future pupil numbers on
- Change a section of land near the current school (shown on the map) from commercial to residential use. These homes are included in the total capacity above
- Reduce the number of homes for social rent within the development by 93, bringing the total to 243
Members of the council’s Planning and Climate Change Policy Board are being asked to agree to these and other conditions when they meet on Tuesday 29 August.
Updates to the community
As explained in previous updates, we will continue to update you directly, while also sharing the same information with subscribers to our Dargavel community opt-in email newsletter.
A good number have signed up for that newsletter so far, but we would appreciate your help to spread the word to your neighbours to let them know they can sign up to the newsletter via our website.
You can read the full reports going before the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board and the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board on our website.
I hope this is helpful
Yours faithfully
Julie Calder
Head of Education / Interim Chief Education Officer
Renfrewshire Council
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