Landfill site school 'sparks safety fears'

A school which has been planned near a former landfill site is the subject of a heated debate among locals of one Scottish town, it has been reported.

According to the BBC, North Lanarkshire Council, which covers one of the largest local council areas in Scotland, has proposed building a new £40 million joint campus for St Ambrose High School and Drumpark School on the edge of a former landfill site in Drumpellier Country Park in Coatbridge.

But John Cushley, a member of the local community council, is among those campaigning against the location as he believes that it is highly contaminated due to the former steelworks in nearby Gartsherrie having dumped its industrial waste there for years.

"I think it is highly irresponsible to choose to build schools on or near a landfill site and I hope ministers will recognise that," he said.

He added that test spores of the site revealed high levels of lead, arsenic, nickel and benzoapyrene.

Written by Joseph Hutton