Plans to demolish a historic school building in Newport will go ahead after initially being delayed due to bats being discovered. Newport City Council was due to start demolishing the key stage two building at St Andrew's Primary School in Lliswerry before the start of term but work was delayed earlier this month after bats were found at the site.
The discovery of the protected species meant the council had to obtain a licence from Natural Resources Wales in order to demolish the building. It said it was hoping to resume work "as soon as possible" but no date was given at the time.
But the council has said it has now been granted a licence from NRW meaning it can start demolishing the building next week. A spokesperson said demolition may continue into September, when pupils are due to return to classrooms, but that "much of the work" will be done before the start of term.
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Hundreds of pupils at St Andrew's were unable to return to classrooms after "significant structural issues" were found at the school's junior building in March 2021. Inspections at the time led to Newport City Council closing the building immediately on safety grounds, with around 340 pupils and staff - including all key stage two pupils and staff - moved to Newport Live’s Connect Centre, where they have been ever since. Key stage one and nursery pupils remain at St Andrew's as their building is not affected.
A spokesperson for Newport City Council said: "Work to take down St Andrews Primary School’s key stage two building is due to begin next week. In July, Newport City Council revealed that the demolition due to take place during the summer holidays had been delayed following the discovery of bats.
"However, following the granting of a licence from Natural Resources Wales, work can begin sooner than expected. Although demolition may continue into September, it is hoped much of the work will be completed before the beginning of term to minimise the disruption to pupils and staff using the site."
Councillor Deb Davies, cabinet member for education, said: “I would like to thank officers for their hard work in getting to this stage and Natural Resources Wales for dealing so quickly with the application for a licence. It means that much of the demolition can be completed before the school returns which is really good news.”
Construction of the school's new key stage two building will begin after planning permission is secured. An application is due to be submitted later this year.
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