New school move consultation is ‘cynical’, campaigners claim

PLANS to move a Vale primary school five miles away to a new building have been labelled “cynical” by campaigners after new details emerged.

Vale of Glamorgan Council wants to move Llancarfan Primary School to a new £4m building in Rhoose – where hundreds of homes are being built.

The council launched a second consultation on the plans following concerns from campaigners about the ethos of the school and its feeder links as well as the effect it would have on the village.

Further details on feeder links and catchment areas, transport and the future of the current Llancarfan Primary School building were revealed in the revised consultation document.

But campaigners say the council has lost credibility by launching a second consultation, which they say does not allay their fears.

The Llancarfan School Action Group said in a statement: “The second consultation is both flawed and cynical in its timing, launched in the run-up to the long summer break when the council might expect fewer people to respond.

“Having lost the argument first time around, the council has simply re-issued the original proposal with cosmetic changes. The plan remains exactly the same as before: to close a much-loved and effective village school in order to open a new and larger school on a housing development in Rhoose.

“However, the action committee is determined to fight on the facts, high- lighting the weaknesses in the council’s arguments and calculations, and ensuring that engagement from parents, local residents and other stakeholders remains high.

“To this end we’re urging everyone who responded the first time around to do so again. We cannot be complacent with so much at stake for our children and local communities.”

The council has previously said the changes are necessary as hundreds of homes, including 350 at Rhoose Point, are being built and a new school is needed to keep up with demand for places.

But the action committee said the council has made “cynical alterations” to the first consultation document to bolster its case and exaggerates the negatives of the current school.

It argues the council has not properly engaged with the community over the plans claims the authority it is avoiding Welsh Government regulations by avoiding treating the matter as a school “closure”.

“The latest proposal is flawed in another crucial respect,” the statement adds. “It fails to consider the impact of having two schools in Rhoose operating as separate schools just half a mile apart. If one became oversubscribed through parental choice the other would be seen as the second-choice school in Rhoose.”

As part of the plans catchment areas for Llanfair Primary School, St Athan Primary School, Rhws Primary School, and St Nicholas Primary School would change to accommodate the new school.

Current feeder school links to Cowbridge Comprehensive School would be retained for Llancarfan Primary pupils and their siblings on the date of the new building opening.

A wider review into catchment areas for all schools in the Vale of Glamorgan is due to take place in 2018-19.