Newport City Council consults on a temporary location for Welsh medium secondary education
Newport City Council has launched (March 1 2016) a statutory consultation to seek views on proposed interim arrangements for the provision of Welsh medium secondary education in Newport, pending the establishment of a permanent site.
This formal consultation process is a legal requirement by the council after planning permission for the development of a new Welsh medium secondary school at Duffryn was not approved by a recent meeting of the council’s planning committee.
A new temporary school needs to be formally established at a specific location in the short term in order to accommodate the pupils who have already applied for admission in September. In the meantime, a fresh planning application for the development of the Duffryn site is to be re-submitted for consideration by full Council.
The consultation is being carried out:
* To establish a seedling Welsh-medium secondary school, sharing the site of Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Teyrnon on a temporary basis from September 2016 and subsequent transfer to the original site on Duffryn Way, Newport as soon as possible, (subject to planning approval being granted), or to an alternative permanent location yet to be determined, at the earliest available opportunity if planning consent for the Duffryn site is again refused.
This will provide a temporary location for the Welsh medium secondary school, sharing the site of the Welsh medium primary school in Brynglas.
The planned Welsh-medium secondary school already has a temporary Governing Body, which in turn has appointed a Headteacher Elect. Newport City Council’s Chief Education Officer has agreed the proposed name put forward by the temporary Governing Body, and the school is therefore known as Ysgol Gyfun Gwent Is Coed.
Following this consultation, Newport City Council’s Cabinet Member for Education & Young People will consider the views expressed and can make the final decision as to whether to proceed with this element of the proposal if no objections are received.
The Brynglas site will be used for up to two academic years, after which time the school would transfer to the Duffryn Way site, if planning permission can be gained following re-submission of the application to be heard by a full meeting of Newport City Council in May or to an alternative site if the application is refused.
The consultation process will give interested parties the chance to ask questions and to give comments on the proposals either by email or by written submission. The consultation will also involve two drop-in sessions where Council officers will be on hand to explain the proposals in more detail and answer any questions. This statutory consultation is soley in relation to the interim educational arrangements and the establishment of the temporary location; it has no bearing whatsoever up on the planning process in relation to a permanent site, which will be subject to separate public consultation.
A drop-in session will take place on Monday 7 March 2016 at Newport Civic Centre from 3pm to 5pm, and on Friday, March 11, from 10am to 12 noon. Written responses should be returned to Education Service Development Manager, Newport City Council, Room 425W, Civic Centre, Newport NP20 4UR.
Alternatively comments can be forwarded by email to school.reorg@newport.gov.uk or via an on-line consultation which can be found at www.newport.gov.uk/wm2
The consultation ends at midnight on Tuesday 12 April 2016.
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