Reassurance over school flood fears

CONCERNS have been raised about the potential flood risk of the site proposed for a new Dundee secondary school.

In an online public consultation on the proposed merger of Craigie High and Braeview Academy, questions were asked about plans to build the £60 million replacement campus on the site of the former St Saviour’s High, on Drumgeith Road.

The “superschool”, which will accommodate about 1,800 pupils, is partly being built to house pupils at Braeview who are being taught in temporary huts after a massive fire devastated the building in 2018.

One member of the public asked: “The football pitches on the other side of the road basically flood every year, the water does flow across Drumgeith Road.

“If you are to build on this site, would the drains cope with more use from a building estimated to have 1,800 plus people?”

Another added: “The school that was on this site, St Saviour’s, was finally knocked down because it was past its best and sinking.

“What has been done or will be done to stop this happening again?”

Council officials said: “Following and utilising appropriate surface water drainage methods we would intend to utilise the Dighty Burn as an outlet to prevent any additional capacity or burden being added to the Scottish water drain network.

“Regardless of the outcome of the proposal, collaborative flood assessment is being undertaken with another local authority along the length of the Dighty Burn to understand and address the long-standing flooding issues and reduce the impact of this for future years.

“Construction methods and technology have moved on considerably since the building of St Saviours RC High School on this site. A variety of mitigation measures will be undertaken prior to, during and after construction of a new building in order to prevent such an issue arising.”

The consultation also revealed concerns about the build up of traffic in the area, with one person claiming the problem is already a “nightmare”. Council officials moved to reassure the analysis would include a “full traffic assessment”.

The online consultation on the merger ends today, with a final decision due to be made in January.

The portable cabins being put in place at Braeview after the fire at the school.