Primary could move to site of empty secondary school
PLANS to move a primary school to an empty secondary school site in Carmarthenshire have the support of the community, according to a councillor.
Carma r t h e r n s h i re Council wants to relocate Ysgol Rhys Prichard some 400 yards to the former Ysgol Gyfun Pantycelyn site, Llandovery.
The new Ysgol Rhys Prichard would cater for 270 pupils, including 30 non-local authority ones, from nursery to Year 6.
Llandovery ward member, councillor Handel Davies, said a public meeting had demonstrated widespread local backing for the proposal.
“I am fully behind it,” he added.
Mr Davies added that he was part of a group which has helped bring the relocation proposal forward.
A design statement submitted on behalf of the council said some older buildings at the Ysgol Gyfun Pantycelyn site, off Cilycwm Road, were no longer fit for purpose and would be demolished.
The next phase of the project would involve the refurbishment of two blocks, plus the creation of a new car park and dropoff area and other landscaping.
The existing rugby field and multi-use games area would be retained, and new play areas created.
The statement said that the current Ysgol Rhys Prichard facilities did not meet the authority’s standards, and that limited parking caused dis- ruption at busy times.
Llandovery Town Council, which fought against the closure of Ysgol Gyfun Pantycelyn, backs the proposed Ysgol Rhys Prichard move.
A transport assessment on behalf of the council said the proposal would have a “negligible impact” on surrounding roads, as well as removing the primary school’s current drop-off and pick-up area on New Road and Cilycwm Road.
The Ysgol Rhys Prichard project is part of the council’s modernising education programme which, in collaboration with the Welsh Government, aims to update nursery, primary and secondary schools.
Meanwhile, Mr Davies said he hoped a community health hub might take shape at some point at the current Ysgol Rhys Prichard site when it was vacated. “It is a hope – no more than that,” he said.