New school is ‘long overdue’
A NEW £10m school in the Cynon Valley is “long overdue,” a local councillor has said. Plans for the new building for Hirwaun Primary School have been approved by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s planning committee.
A NEW £10m school in the northern Cynon Valley is “long overdue,” a local councillor has said.
Plans for the new building for Hirwaun Primary School have been approved by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s planning committee.
Hirwaun Primary School currently has a pupil capacity of 265 but the new school building’s capacity will increase this to 450 pupils, with 60 preschool pupils and 390 primary school pupils.
There will be a phased demolition of the existing teaching blocks off Long Meadow Close and temporary classrooms will be put in place to house pupils until the new building is complete.
The plans were officially submitted in July after cabinet gave its approval to the scheme in April as part of wider plans to improve education provision in the northern Cynon Valley, which will also see Penderyn Community Primary School becoming a Welsh-medium only school.
Inside the new Hirwaun Primary School building there will be a Flying Start facility, a nursery classroom, a reception classroom, four infant classrooms, eight junior classrooms, a resource and community room, a main hall and staff space.
The outdoor areas will include a multi-use games area with potential access to the public, a multi-use games area for pupils only, hard play areas, a grass pitch, a habitat area and an ecological area.
Councillor Karen Morgan, who represents Hirwaun on the council, said: “It is a long overdue development.
“Of course I welcome it, but in an ideal world it would have been on a different site. The highway network is quite substandard.”
But she said she was pleased that there were conditions which will require additional parking space for pick-up and drop-off and also a new pedestrian crossing in Brecon Road.
Councillor Joy Rosser, the cabinet member for education, said: “Our young people deserve the very best opportunities in their education, and the plans for Hirwaun form part of a new £23.9m investment in the Upper Cynon Valley by 2022 – which includes significant funding for Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Aberd r in Cwmdare and Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun in Penywaun.
“With planning permission now granted, I’m looking forward to seeing the next stages of this very exciting project progress over the coming months.”
The plan is for pupils to move into temporary classrooms from September this year, with the new school opening in September 2021.