Dear PPAG, please drop the appeal.

A new Portobello High School has been planned since 2005. The following year, after extensive and exhaustive analysis and public consultation, a site on Portobello Park was chosen and approved by City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government. A budget of £41.5 M was set aside for a 21st century school that would benefit thousands of local children for generations to come.

The Council accepted that Portobello Park was Common Good land and sought legal advice as to its right to build a school on it. Advice from senior counsel was quite clear - the Council did not require permission and on that basis they went ahead with the project.

Responses to the planning application indicated that a clear and significant majority of the community was in support of the school being built on the park.

The contract went out to tender and was duly awarded but work was delayed because of the threat of legal action from a group opposed to the project (PPAG).

Eventually, the case was heard and Lady Dorrian ruled that PPAG had delayed too long in bringing the action. She also made it very clear that, even if this had not been the case, she would have rejected PPAG's case on merit, effectively leaving them no grounds for appeal.

PPAG have now lodged an appeal against this decision. Even though they have no prospect of success, an appeal could delay the opening of the new school by a further two years. It could increase the costs by millions of pounds, money that could otherwise be spent on the provision of other badly-needed new schools.

It's not just about money though. Local children, our children, and their teachers continue to suffer the consequences of these delaying tactics in sub-standard accommodation, in a school that is not fit for purpose. An ugly tower block surrounded by a sea of concrete. Lifts that don't work. Children crushed in the stairs. Inadequate sports provision.

Just a few minutes walk away lies Portobello Park. It lies at the centre of the catchment area. It would provide a state of the art school and on-site sports provision within a parkland setting. A school that our children deserve. A school that they have been promised and have had to wait so long for.