Councillors approve Balmedie school catchment area changes
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Formartine councillors have given their support to plans that would see the current Balmedie School catchment area amended to include Blackdog.
If approved, the school zone would be extended so it aligns with the boundary between Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils.
A public consultation on the matter was launched by Aberdeenshire Council in October last year to give residents the chance to have their say.
Currently, some children living in Blackdog attend Scotstown School in Aberdeen due to the zones.
The proposal came about after families living in the Blackdog area raised worries with the local authority about the catchment area.
They also voiced some concerns about school transport arrangements.
The council carried out an informal survey last May to gather the views of Blackdog residents, with the majority believing children in the village should attend Balmedie School.
As part of the latest consultation, a public meeting was held in November along with an online survey.
Pupils in the area also took part in the discussions to ensure their voices were heard too.
Aberdeenshire Council has recommended that the catchment area be changed, meaning all primary aged children living in the Blackdog area would be in the Balmedie School zone from August.
However, pupils currently at Scotstown would not be forced to move.
Members of the Formartine area committee unanimously backed the recommendation earlier this week.
Councillor Louise McAllister attended the recent public consultation meeting and noted that the majority of the community supported the change.
She said: “Most agree that not having neighbours going in different directions to school in the morning makes a lot more sense.
“This seems to be largely the best outcome that we can have, that we aren’t splitting schools, children and streets up.”
Meanwhile councillor Paul Johnston also backed the boundary change but noted it had taken a number of years to get to this point.
He said: “This is a terribly long process, quite complicated and overly formal.
“The first time this was raised with me was when the council boundaries changed in 2007 and it’s taken that amount of time to switch these catchment areas.”
The recommendation will now go to the education and children’s services committee for consideration at a later date.
