Decision to be made on high school plans
THE project to build Cardiff’s new £30m secondary school is on course to take a major step forward tomorrow – in a move that could see it operational in 18 months.
Cardiff West Community High School is planned to replace Michaelston Community College and Glyn Derw High School.
The schools have been operating as Michaelston Glyn Derw Federation since April 2015.
The new school will be built on the site of the former Glyn Derw High, which was devastated by a fire in 2016.
It is not expected to be operational until February 2019 at the earliest.
The planning application for the school – the last major hurdle to the development – will be considered by city planning officials tomorrow evening.
If approved, the eight form-entry school will accommodate 1,200 Year 7 to Year 11 pupils, plus 320 sixth formers for post-16 education.
The school will comprise three two-storey buildings.
A secondary school building will include 50 classrooms plus large, flexible open teaching spaces, main hall and dining area.
The sixth form block for post-16 students would accommodate 18 classrooms, with a hall, study room and a dining room and cafe.
A new sports hall will include changing facilities and an activity studio.
A 3G rugby and football pitch with floodlights and a stand for 100 spectators will be situated to the north of the site, alongside a multi-use grassed area and a long jump pit.
Included in the plans are allotments, a wildflower meadow, an orchard and an amphitheatre.
The community will be able to access the sports building, sports pitches, changing facilities, activity studio, adult learning classrooms and the hair and beauty classroom outside of school hours.
The application has been recommended for approval ahead of tomorrow’s meeting.
Caerau councillors Elaine Simmons and Peter Bradbury, in a joint submission, said: “We are particularly delighted to see a brilliant and futuristic design that will transform the local area. We are delighted to see top quality facilities being provided to teach in. This is a vast difference to the appalling conditions of the old Federated School.”
But they added: “We are saddened that some of the development of those sporting facilities will trespass onto one pitch on Trelai Park. However these concerns will be alleviated with a condition that the 4G pitch going in there will be made available to the community and can be accessed from Trelai Park.”
Those calls were echoed by local AM Mark Drakeford and MP Kevin Brennan who, as well as welcoming the development, called for measures to cut potential traffic and parking problems for residents on Penally Road and Heol Eglwys.