Council approves plans for new £120m school despite opposition
The new Bilston school would include a swimming pool, a separate additional support needs building and sports pitches
Midlothian Council has approved plans for a new £120m secondary school, Beeslack High School, which will have capacity for 1,600 pupils despite community opposition.
Planned for land to the west of Seafield Moor Road, in Bilston, the new school would include a swimming pool, a separate additional support needs building, as well as a vet clinic on the same lot which will be used by the Dick Vet.
Sports pitches are expected to be attached to the school building on land to the east of the road.
The news comes despite objections to the application from Roslin and Bilston Community Council, as they believe that while a new school would be a welcome addition, the location of the current plans was wrong and did not agree with the school potentially having unisex toilets.
Those opposed said: “The location of the proposed school is unsatisfactory in a number of ways, not least having a campus that is split by a main road, a road that is due to become even busier in a few years’ time.
“With so much public money at stake, the need for a thorough site search is irrefutable. Until there has been an open, professional site search with opportunity for public participation, including participation in drawing up the terms of reference and in the assessment process, planning permission for the present proposal must not be granted.”
At the council’s planning meeting, which approved Beeslack High School’s application, council leader Kelly Parry also addressed one objection related to toilets in the new facility, saying they were not going to be unisex.
Parry added: “I want to clear up one issue that is the email campaign claiming there are only unisex toilets in the new Beeslack school. I want to assure people that the new building will include open plan, full height, closed individual cubicles, separate toilets and accessible toilets and are therefore not unisex only. Additionally, if people prefer a more private toilet facility, these will be available and positioned around the school.”