Schools charges 'illegal'

Aug 1 2008 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PERTH and Kinross Council was accused yesterday of ripping-off local housebuilders by demanding hundreds of thousands of pounds in illegal payments towards education provision in schools at or near capacity.

The charge has been made by Allan Lundmark, director of planning and communications with Homes for Scotland, the representative body for most of the major housebuilders in Scotland.

He has written to Peter Marshall, planning manager with the council’s Environment Services, stating: “Homes for Scotland takes the view that Perth and Kinross Council have no legal authority to seek to obtain contributions from residential developments to relieve primary school constraints arising from the 2m2 standards.”

Copies of his letter have also gone to chief executive Bernadette Malone, her deputy Jim Irons, head of Legal Services Ian Innes and Councillor Ian Miller, head of the administration.

The accusation was also made by Denis Munro, a former planning director with the council and now adviser to Glencarse-based construction company, GS Brown, at a meeting of the development control committee on Wednesday.

GS Brown were finally given the go-ahead for a 181 house development at Lynedoch Road, Methven, but had refused to pay a £240,000 education levy towards expanding the local primary school in the village as it was very close to capacity.

Mr Munro told councillors: “Put simply, we refused because the demands the officers have made of us – and a large number of other applicants – are totally illegal.

“Specifically, they have not been authorised by any committee of this council so the officers are acting beyond their powers,” stated Mr Munro.

In February, 2007, the council’s Lifelong Learning Committee considered a report recommending the adoption of new 2m2 space standards which would have the effect of reducing – drastically in many cases – the capacity of a very large number of primary schools in Perth and Kinross.

The committee agreed to adopt the new standards but subject to two important caveats.

One was that officers in Education and Children’s Services and the Environment Services be instructed to bring forward a protocol to the Enterprise and Infrastructure Committee which would ensure that decisions on housing development applications “took due cognisance of the capacity and accommodation issues in the primary schools.”

The revised capacities outlined in an appendix to the report were also to be “effective from the August, 2007, intake, on a phased basis.”

But Mr Munro said yesterday: “No such protocol has ever been reported to the Enterprise and Infrastructure Committee.

“But, outrageously in my view, officers of the Environment Service and Planning had actually drawn up their own version of a protocol and applied it to applications ‘with immediate effect’ on February 19, 2007 – nine days BEFORE the Lifelong Learning Committee actually met to discuss the matter.”

Mr Lundmark explains in his letter that the report to the LIfelong Learning Committee sought to re-classify more than half of the 76 primary schools in Perth and KInross as “full.”

But he pointed out: “Physically, the buildings had not changed, nor had an influx of problems created capacity problems.

“Rather capacity became an issue because Perth and Kinross Council had sought to introduce new standards, namely...the new 2m2 space standard.

“These completely new standards appear to have been introduced without any prior consultation or testing, despite the fact that it must have been evident to the council that their introduction would impact on any residential proposals in the affected school catchment areas.”

Mr Lundmark explained that he had written to the council at the end of March, 2007, expressing his members’ concern at the possible introduction of the levy and received a reply on April 10 stating: “Consultation would be undertaken prior to making any changes to the council’s planning policy on developer contributions to primary schools...”

Mr Lundmark added: “I can confirm there has been no such consultation.”

He concluded in his letter: “Homes for Scotland takes the view Perth and Kinross Council is acting ultra vires in demanding levies under the ‘2m2’ standards and we are therefore seeking an assurance from your council that the payments which have been demanded/paid so far under the 2m2 standards will be waived.”

l The development control committee was told on Wednesday that GS Brown would normally have been required to make a “substantial financial contribution” towards schooling provision in Methven.

But Nick Brian, the council’s development quality manager, explained: “The council has recently decided to increase the capacity of the school through the installation of additional classroom units, at its own expense, therefore the education constraints will now effectively be removed.”