Outraged at school cuts

IN your recent coverage (Post, April 15), “New estate planning agreement changed”, you report on the planning meeting in which the contribution from Pobl to Gowerton Primary from the 100house Cefn Gorwydd site was reduced by councillors from £272,000 to zero.

Whilst the education department report states there will be 26 spaces in the primary by September 2022 (something I struggle to believe will come to pass), the education department has admitted to me in subsequent emails that it has not taken into account numbers of pupils that will come from other estates currently being constructed in Gowerton.

Even if you believe the figure of 26 spaces by September 2022 that the education department has put forward, by the time you add in the minimal 20 pupils that will come from the new site at George Manning Way this means the primary will be 21 spaces short.

This is made up of the one space that education admits to, plus the probable number of pupils from the site currently being built by Coastal Housing.

If 27 extra pupils would have earned Gowerton Primary £272,000, 21 would earn the school £212,500. Sadly, the education department tells me that it is not allowed to include sites under construction but not yet occupied in its projections when considering further sites. How bizarre is that?

In the first round of this battle there were more than 350 objections. This time, and despite the crucial education department’s statutory response being missing off the council planning portal “by accident”, there were still over 150 objections.

I remain outraged that the village school will take a financial haircut to help Pobl.

ALEX WILLIAMS via email