£144m project set to become most expensive in council’s history

Bruce Sinclair, Local Democracy Reporter

A £144 million plan to build new schools and leisure facilities is set to become the most expensive capital project ever undertaken by a Welsh council.

The scheme, centred on the redevelopment of education provision in Milford Haven, took a major step forward after Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet approved the submission of an outline business case to the Welsh Government.

Cabinet members also backed an updated budget for the project, which has risen from £141.6 million to £143.6 million.

The redevelopment would see the construction of a new Welsh-medium primary school and a combined English-medium primary and secondary school, alongside specialist learning resource centres and a Flying Start facility.

A leisure centre would also be included as part of the wider development, replacing Thornton Sports Hall, although funding for the leisure element is being considered separately.

A report presented to Cabinet said the increase in costs was largely due to changes in Welsh Government requirements, which have increased the amount of floor space required in the new school buildings, along with further refinement of project estimates.

Under the proposed funding arrangement, the Welsh Government would contribute 67.75% of the costs, with Pembrokeshire County Council providing the remaining 32.25%.

That would leave the council contributing £46.3 million towards the overall project.

In the report, the council’s Director of Resources, Jonathan Haswell, described the development as “the most expensive capital project ever undertaken by the council”.

The plans were considered at the first Cabinet meeting since former education cabinet member Cllr Guy Woodham stepped down from his role due to health issues.

Council leader Cllr Tessa Hodgson paid tribute to his work on the scheme.

She said Mr Woodham had “worked so hard for this” and noted it was the first meeting at which he had not been present in his education role.

The proposals follow previous confirmation that the new schools are unlikely to open before the next decade.

At a full council meeting earlier this month, members were told the new English-medium school is not expected to be completed until 2030, with the Welsh-medium school following in 2032.

Speaking at that meeting, Cllr Woodham said he was personally disappointed to be leaving his Cabinet post before seeing construction begin, saying he had hoped to witness “a spade in the ground”.

Welsh medium school

The preferred option would see the new Welsh-medium school built on the existing Milford Haven Community Primary School junior site, while the combined English-medium primary and secondary provision would be developed on the current secondary school site, with some shared facilities between the two.

The scheme also includes a 40-place Flying Start centre, a 36-place secondary learning resource centre and a 24-place primary learning resource centre.

Mike Cavanagh, Pembrokeshire County Council’s Head of Culture, Leisure and School Modernisation, stressed that the outline business case was not the final stage of the approval process.

A full business case is expected to be submitted later this year, with the council still aiming for completion dates of 2030 and 2032 for the two schools.