Contaminated Land Eyed for New Lenzie Academy as Locals Protest Loss of Greenspace

In November 2025, East Dunbartonshire Council is proposing to build a new Lenzie Academy on Whitegates Park, a site that was previously found to have contaminated soil. This plan has sparked angry protests from local residents who are concerned about the loss of valuable greenspace in their community.

The current Lenzie Academy, which has a roll of over 1,300 pupils, recently received a fire safety report that graded it as possessing a "substantial risk to life" due to issues with fire exits and doors. Parents have attributed this to "years of neglect and underinvestment" in the aging school building. Plans to replace the current school with a new facility have been ongoing since 2021.

The council's decision to select Whitegates Park as the preferred location for the new Lenzie Academy has been met with significant backlash. A 2018 survey found a toxic risk from shallow soils at the site, as well as "significant potential for adverse environmental impact" if any building went ahead. However, the council now claims that further survey work has found the land could be suitable if remedial work is carried out.

Locals have accused the council of a "cloak and dagger process" in selecting the Whitegates site, as the meeting where the decision was made was not minuted. Campaigners believe there was a "deliberate steer" towards picking Whitegates over other options, despite the site previously being deemed unsuitable for an additional support needs (ASN) school in 2018.

The ongoing dispute has taken a toll on some protestors, with one resident stating that the park is "like medicine" for the community and that losing it would "affect the whole community" and impact their mental health.