Issue - meetings

Permission was granted to conduct a statutory consultation, in accordance with the requirements of section 48 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013, on the proposal to increase the capacity of Ysgol Treferthyr to 150 and to relocate the school to an alternative site, referred to as the A497 site, on 1 September 2023, reporting back to the Cabinet following the completion of the consultation.

Submitted by Cllr. Cemlyn Williams   

DECISION

Permission was granted to conduct a statutory consultation, in accordance with the requirements of section 48 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013, on the proposal to increase the capacity of Ysgol Treferthyr to 150 and to relocate the school to an alternative site, referred to as the A497 site, on 1 September 2023, reporting back to the Cabinet following the completion of the consultation.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted and it was noted that the Council's Strategic Plan highlighted the need for Gwynedd pupils to receive education of the highest standard and within the best possible locations. It was highlighted that the Ysgol Treferthyr building was now unsuitable and it would be uneconomic to remain in the same building. Consequently, it was added that the decision required the school to be relocated to an alternative site. 

The Head of Department noted that it was exciting to present the recommendation to invest in Cricieth and that the Council, through this scheme, would benefit from Band B funding from the 21st Century Schools Programme. 

The background of the report was received from the Education Officer for Dwyfor and Meirionnydd who drew attention to the matter that Ysgol Llanystumdwy had by now withdrawn from the discussions. It was stated that a discussion had taken place regarding a suitable location for the school and attention was drawn to the favoured site. It was highlighted that it was necessary to increase the school's capacity to 150 and this was following lessons learnt in opening new schools, namely that the number of children tended to increase in the first years of a new school.  

In terms of the budget, it was noted that the original application was for £4.97m; however, it was anticipated that the application would increase to £5.4m as there was a need for additional space for the ABC and Language Disorder Unit that will increase the project budget.  

Observations arising from the discussion

¾  The report was welcomed and it was noted that the plan was exciting and was positive news for the future. 

¾  Some of the challenges in terms of the location for wildlife were highlighted and the need to operate to retain wildlife there was emphasised. In addition, the low number of children living within the new school area was emphasised and an enquiry was made as to how the children would travel to school. It was stated that the department would commission further work to look into alternative routes to school.

In terms of the former site, it was asked whether it would be offered to the community. It was stated that they would seek to see if the Council had use for the land prior to offering it to the community.