Council faces £125,000 bill for school declared structurally unsafe

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Damage to a primary school building has cost Newport City Council an extra £125,000 since inspectors first uncovered safety problems there last year.

Millbrook Primary School, in Bettws, closed in the summer of 2022 following an inspection of the main building, during which structural problems were discovered.

Pupils and staff have spent the past year in temporary classrooms at an adult training centre in Brynglas, and that arrangement is set to continue when the next academic year begins in September.

Figures published under a Freedom of Information Act request show the city council has so far spent more than £25,000 on repairs at Millbrook Primary.

An extra £100,000 has been spent to date on running costs for classes at the temporary site in Brynglas.

The empty  school has become a playground for trespassers, and earlier in August the city council warned people against setting foot on the site, amid reports of vandalism.

Trespassers’ actions had resulted in the empty school being “considered dangerous”, the council said at the time.