Plans lodged for two new Edinburgh primary schools

The City of Edinburgh Council has drawn up plans for two new primary schools which will cater for a total of 1,000 children.Designs have been lodged with planners for a new Victoria Primary School in Leith as well as a new school in the south of the city on Frogston Road East as part of the Broomhills housing development.Both schools will be funded by developers carrying out substantial house-building projects in the respective neighbourhoods.The schools will each have room for 420 pupils alongside 80 nursery places each and will have the potential to expand on site if required. If extended, each primary school could cater for up to 630 pupils.Designed by Holmes Miller, Victoria Primary will move north from its existing site on Newhaven Main Street to a new home on Windrush Drive as part of the Western Harbour development by Forth Ports. The school is the oldest still in operation in the capital, dating back to 1844.If planning permission is granted, the buildings will be arranged around a “three-sided courtyard area” to protect children in the playground from windy conditions from the Forth.The Broomhills school will be built between Frogston Road East and Burdiehouse Road and will include a 3G pitch. The proposals include an “urban jungle” mimicking the form of the nearby Pentland Hills.It is hoped the new schools will both open their doors in 2020 to pupils, subject to planning permission. It is thought the existing Victoria Primary School site will be sold if it is classed as not needed by the council – and discussions could take place over community asset transfer down the line.