Council staff have confirmed to me that no decisions have yet been made about the future of the Braeside Schools site.

Following a recent decision not to use Braeside School as the temporary home for Countesswells School until a new school is built at Countesswells, I was contacted by a number of people who were concerned about what would now happen to the Braeside School site. People also asked me if the council’s intention now was to sell the site for development and, if so, when that sale was likely to happen.

I contacted council staff to ask for an update on plans for the school buildings and grounds. I also asked for an assurance that the children’s play area beside the school would not be included in any sale.

The reply I received from council’s Corporate Landlord Service said:

“Dear Councillor Yuill,

“No decisions have been made at this stage with regards to the Braeside site. Once the building closes which is likely to be at the end of this calendar year, it is anticipated that Integrated Children’s and Family Services will declare it surplus to its requirements, and the property will then be passed to the Corporate Landlord to manage.

“There is then a set process to be followed in dealing with surplus properties, which would begin with checking whether any other services in the Council have a requirement for the building. If no alternative uses can be found, then an options appraisal would be carried out on what should be done with the site. These options may well include the possibility of offering the site for sale.

“The children’s play area is not part of the Braeside site so it is unlikely that this would be included in any future plans for Braeside School.”