CAMPAIGNERS have warned that open spaces gifted to communities across Scotland could be under threat after MSPs backed controversial plans for a new secondary school in Edinburgh.
The decision by a committee at Holyrood is the strongest official indication that a private bill could pave the way for a new Portobello High School on the common good land of Portobello Park.
The area has become a battleground between Edinburgh City Council and campaigners who say construction of the school will deprive the community of an important public space. A recent Court of Session ruling said the park's common good status was "inalienable".
Stephen Hawkins of the Portobello Park Action Group said: "For all the arguments that have been submitted, from both MSPs and the council, no-one has yet to address the real issue at hand.
He added:"We are worried about the precedent this will set across Scotland. If one council builds on common good land, then there is no reason why others won't do the same."
Though he accepted the current school needed replaced, he said: "That is simply not a good enough reason to ignore the common good land issue."
The council must now secure parliamentary approval to change its use so it can be used for the development.
Green MSP Alison Johnstone said the process had been deeply divisive, but she said the existing school had not stood the test of time.
The former city councillor added: "The issue now is about the conditions which are attached to the school being built.
"What assurances can be secured that new playing fields will always be accessible to the community at large? What certainty is there that the old high school site will be transformed into high-quality green and open space to be enjoyed for generations to come?"
Labour MSP Siobhan McMahon, who convenes the Holyrood committee looking at the bill and supports the project, said the decision would not set a precedent.
Tory MSP Cameron Buchanan agreed. "No such danger exists," he said, adding the bill was "about Portobello Park and Portobello Park alone".
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