Plain Language

Insulation for Hilltown homes

Clear communications can help a lot. At last night's council we agreed to insulate houses in several areas, including thirty in the Hilltown Terrace area. We have learned from experience that insulating houses does not simply mean sticking cladding on the outside. Drainpipes have to be moved, cables and ventilators shifted ... in one recent job coal cellars had to be blocked up and covered over. Piles of cladding will appear in gardens.

I urged the Housing Department to ensure that residents are told exactly what we propose to do, and not just at a public meeting. We need to give people clear information they can keep so they can track each stage of the job. As we discovered in Woodlands, failing to satisfy the reasonable but insistent demands of an unhappy owner occupier can use up valuable time and create angst. No-one wants angst!

Rosebank Primary pupils go to the Morgan?

We also need to be clear about changes in our schools. Pupils from Rosebank Primary go to Harris Academy just now, but this could change. There is  a proposal to close Menzieshill High and move pupils to the Harris. Rosebank children would go to the Morgan instead.

I think people living east of the Hilltown will be happier with this than those living to the west. When Harris returns to its new building in the Perth Road it will be a long trip for pupils who could walk to the Morgan in a few minutes. But people living on the west side may not see things this way.

So at last night's Council I asked the Education Department if they would be issuing information in plain language which would help answers the questions of parents about the future education of their children. Here's just some of what I would want to know ...

* when would the change happen?

* is there enough room in the Morgan?

* is the Morgan as good as the Harris?

* does it offer the same subject choice?

* how would my child get there?

* would kids already at Harris stay at Harris?

* would my family be split between schools?

* could I send my child to the Harris anyway? If so, how?

* are kids from outside Dundee taking places at the Harris?

* what is the Morgan's policy on bullying?

* what other options are there instead of doing this?

* is this just about saving money?

* are there educational benefits?

As it happens the Morgan is a very good school in an excellent building. This is not just about saving money, although money would be saved by closing a half empty secondary. I'll leave the Education Department to answer the rest of the questions and I am very confident that they can do so. But it is really important that parents ask the questions and contribute their ideas. Nothing is decided yet.

Fleming Trust ...

Scotland's most efficient landlord, arguably, is Dundee's Fleming Trust. It has no debt, houses which are better than the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, low rent arrears, and generally happy tenants. The Fleming Trust is made up of Dundee's 29 councillors, and the Trust has agreed to upgrade the sheltered housing lounge in Hindmarsh Gardens. This gave me an opportunity to praise the work of the housing managers who run the Trust. Yes, councillors are there to ask questions and point things out, but we should also recognise good work, and say so.

Mark Henderson Centre

Signpost International has left the Hilltown to make way for a new school and community centre, and I am sorry to see them go. The council has helped this international development charity to find a new home in Whitfield, and I think they will make a big contribution there.

The Council last night agreed to knock down their Hilltown home, the Mark Henderson Centre, and I had mixed feelings about this. It was a real community hall where everything happened from Burns Suppers to martial arts to poetry and song to alcohol rehabilitation to legal advice clinics. We still have Grey Lodge, the MaxWell Centre and other facilities and there is a new centre coming, but I'll miss the Mark Henderson Centre. I wish Signpost well in their new base.