City seeks to bring school case forward

City council chiefs are to ask the Court of Session to bring forward a legal case lodged against them in order to try to ensure that the creation of a new school is not delayed.

Portobello Park Action Group (PPAG) has raised a petition to try to stop Portobello High School being built on the grounds that the proposed site is common good land.

The case is due to go to court in December but city leaders say delaying building work until after then will mean the school will not open until January 2014, instead of August 2013 as had been hoped.

Now legal officials at the council have agreed to write to the Court to request that the case is brought forward.

Councillor Marilyne MacLaren, the city’s education leader, said: “Every day that there is a delay is bad for the school. The school community is absolutely desperate, and so are we, to get this situation resolved.”

Parents and pupils urged councillors to press ahead with building the school at a meeting of the full council yesterday.

A written statement from PPAG said the council had “rebutted all attempts to jointly seek determination through the courts”.