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East Dunbartonshire Council intend to submit a planning application for the redevelopment of the existing Balmuildy Primary School to form a new education facility, including an early years provision.
Please Note: The proposals below are under development and are subject to change.
A public engagement event held at Balmuildy Primary School on 21 June 2023 between 3.30pm and 7pm event is the latest stage in the delivery of a new primary school following the Council’s previous feasibility and stakeholder engagement process.
Project Scope
Balmuildy Primary School was built in 1962 and has now come to the end of its lifecycle. East Dunbartonshire Council wish to deliver a new, modern learning facility which maximises flexible space and enhances both internal and external learning environments.
The school capacity will remain the same with the design based on a roll of 462 learners. In addition, a new early years facility will be delivered as part of the new development, with capacity for 60.
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Planning Context
The existing Balmuildy Primary School will remain operational during the construction of Phase 1 of the project. Once pupils have decanted to the new building, Phase 2 will commence and will include the demolition of the existing building and the delivery of the landscaping works.
Site Analysis
Given the context, technical assessments are currently being undertaken to inform the proposed development.
These include:
- Drainage Strategy
- Transport Assessment
- Design and Access Statement
- Ecological Surveys
- Landscape Statement
These technical documents are to be submitted and discussed to ensure that all matters pertinent to the proposed development are considered and any required mitigation measures identified.
Site Constraints:
- Standard offsets from existing building to allow construction access
- Offsets from neighbouring boundaries
- Existing cluster of trees to south west corner
- Recognise sunpath for placement of new school
Recognise sunpath for placement of new school:
- South / North: prime elevations for teaching spaces, with glazing ratios at 15-25%
- East / West: subordinate elevations for halls/administration, where glazing can reduce, mitigating overheating and controlling solar gains.
Tandem Build
- To safely operate the existing school during the tandem build it is important to define a buffer zone to the new construction.
Topography
Overall the site is relatively flat, with a level change of approximately two metres across the site
Greenspace & Ecology
An orchard area has developed to the southwest corner of the site and is a good resource for outdoor learning activity. Further perimeter trees are evident to the north of the site providing screening from neighbouring properties. The remaining boundaries are generally planted from within the neighbouring properties with some screening to the eastern boundary.
Access
The site has a full width frontage to the southern boundary which is defined by Stirling Drive, where all the pedestrian and vehicular access points are located. Currently, the sole drop off zone is located on Stirling Drive creating daily congestion.
Design Development
Classroom Concept
The building concept is a two-storey mass which is zoned into specific adjacencies to provide a simple and clear navigational strategy.
The southern half of the building is for administrative and staff facilities along with the community facilities. Plant and servicing are also hosted in this half of the building.
The northern half houses the learning spaces for the primary school and the early years facility. These areas have direct access to the external learning spaces within a secure environment.
The early years is located centrally to the plan with independent access from external entrance but also with a direct link to the early stage / primary 1 classrooms on the ground floor to ease this important transition. This will help to create a combined sense of community and togetherness between the early years and primary 1 classes.
The key relationships are listed below:
- Safe pedestrian and cycle access with separate early years pick up / drop off
- Utilising the existing access points to create parking provisions and a one-way drop off loop for buses / pupils / service vehicles, separate to the main parking area
- Retaining the existing orchard which provides interest and habitat to the southwest corner of the site
- A new MUGA pitch is proposed to the western half of the site.
- A secure playground with direct access from classrooms and a separate early years playground to the east of the site
Learning Concept
The design is based on four classroom clusters with flexible activity spaces running along the frontage of cellular class teaching spaces.
The teaching areas are separated from the flexible activity space by glazed screens, allowing for informal supervision.
Landscape
The landscape proposals will provide opportunities for the school external spaces to be used in three main ways; formal teaching, learning spaces and play.
The intention for the external environment is to provide a safe, accessible environment for learning and play which requires consideration of the following:
- Outdoor covered learning facilities
- Sports facilities
- Habitat areas for biodiversity and education
- Growing spaces such as allotments and orchard.
- Screening to adjacent properties
Next Steps
Comments & Feedback
We welcome you to share your views on the proposed development.
You can submit your feedback until 14 July 2023 by emailing the Project Team at Christine.dalziel@stantec.com or calling 0131 285 3653.
A second Public Engagement Event will be held at Balmuildy Primary School on 21 June 2023 between 3.30pm and 7pm.
Your feedback will be reviewed by the Project Team and may be reused anonymously in a Pre-Application Consultation report submitted as part of the planning application.
Please note that comments made on these proposals are to the prospective applicant (the Council’s Major Assets Team) and not formal representations to the Council as Planning Authority. Following the submission of any planning application, there will be further opportunity to make formal representations on the application to East Dunbartonshire Council as Planning Authority during the statutory notification period. The current proposals are under development and subject to change.