A new primary school has finally been given the green light for Kidwelly. It will be built at the rear of the Co-op Foodstore on land bordered by Parc Pendre, Stockwell Forge and Clos y Helyg, and replace the town's Victorian-era Ysgol Gwenllian.
The current Ysgol Gwenllian, on Station Road, had 120 pupils registered in 2018 - the new one will have space for 174 children in eight classrooms, plus a 30-place nursery. The new Ysgol Gwenllian will come with a football pitch, multi-use games area and hall, which could be available for community hire outside of school hours. Vehicle access will be via Parc Pendre. There'll be 50 spaces within a car park - 20 for staff - and also 20 cycle spaces.
The council's planning committee approved the new school in 2020 subject to issues such as potential flooding and ecology being resolved, and these matters have now been resolved. Speaking at the committee meeting, its then chairman, Cllr Alun Lenny, said: "It's great to see that Kidwelly will be having a new school in the near future - a school that they deserve for the 21st Century." At present the Plaid Cymru-Independent authority doesn't have a timeline or cost for the completion of the school.
READ MORE: Young children might have to wait longer to start primary school in Carmarthenshire
Kidwelly Labour councillor Lewis Davies said of the final approval issued recently: "It's good news for Ysgol Gwenllian - they've been in a dated, over-capacity school for some time. I'm really happy for them." He added: "More Welsh medium provision in the town is great."
The new site in question forms part of a plot which is allocated for housing under Carmarthenshire Council's development plan, but a design and access statement submitted with the planning application said the landowner was not bringing forward housing proposals. It added that there were plenty of other sites allocated for residential development in Kidwelly.
Earlier this year detailed planning approval was given for 71 houses at the town's former Dinas Yard brick factory site, while outline plans for up to 150 homes off Monksford Street and Stockwell Lane were also given the green light.
Meanwhile, the future of Ysgol Mynyddygarreg, near Kidwelly, which was given a reprieve last December when cabinet members decided to postpone a closure decision, is being considered in detail along with every other school in the county as part of a wider education review.
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