Council put bill to parliament for Portobello High School

A PRIVATE bill to allow the new Portobello High School to be built on Portobello Park has been introduced in the Scottish Parliament.

A PRIVATE bill to allow the new Portobello High School to be built on Portobello Park has been introduced in the Scottish Parliament.

The City of Edinburgh ­Council is taking the comparatively rare step of seeking to introduce new legislation as the existing law is stopping them from building it.

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The bill, which is being promoted by the council, aims to change the Common Good status of Portobello Park from inalienable to alienable, but only for educational purposes. This means although the land would remain in the ­Common Good, the council would be able to ‘appropriate it’, or change its use, to an ­educational purpose.

The council recently consulted on its proposals for the bill and received resounding support to take it forward.

The consultation produced the highest number of responses for any council consultation in recent years, with more than 12,000 individual responses received. Of the valid responses received, 70 per cent supported the proposals with support in the Portobello area hitting 76 per cent.

Councillor Paul Godzik, ­Convener of Education, ­Children and Families, said: “The council is absolutely determined to deliver a new Portobello High School and this is an important milestone in the project. We believe we have a strong case to put to parliament. This by far the best location.”