Emotional scenes as councillors vote to close primary school

Elgan Hearn Local Democracy Reporter

By just two votes, councillors have voted to close a Blaenau Gwent primary school.

At an emotionally charged Blaenau Gwent council meeting on Wednesday, July 15, councillors received the final report on the proposals to close Roseheyworth primary school campus which is part of Abertillery Learning Community (ALC), an all-through 3–16 school.

The move is a bid to cut surplus school places and save money.

Closing Roseheyworth would reduce the all-through school’s capacity from 980 to 770 pupils from September 2027.

The council have explained that ALC, which has a budget of £11.1 million is currently running a projected deficit of £898,000.

They say that if no action is taken, this deficit is expected to increase to £1.7 million by March 31, 2027.

Closing Roseheyworth is expected to save around £2.2 million over a five-year period

The final part of the process saw the council receive objection from May 5 to June 3.

During that period the council receive 389 objections.

From the outset of the meeting councillors criticised the Labour cabinet for not taking the decision themselves and putting the onus on all councillors to decide the school’s fate.

Full council taking the final decision meant that during the five-month long process councillors in Cwmtillery, and the Abertillery and Six Bells wards had been effectively gagged and not allowed to air their views publicly or help objectors for fear of being banned from this crucial vote.

Cllr Joanna Wilkins (Cwmtillery – opposition Independent group) said: “I feel I have been backed into a corner.

“Effectively my voice was taken away early, and I have not been able to support my residents in the way I would have wished because I have to remain open minded because the vote was coming here.”

Council leader Cllr Steve Thomas (Labour – Tredegar) stressed that bringing the decision before all councillors was the fairest thing to do.

Cllr Thomas said: “An issue of this magnitude should be available for all members to have their say on, in a cabinet meeting they wouldn’t have that.”

As the debate progressed Cllr Malcolm Day (Cwmtillery – opposition Independent) said: “We live in a deprived area and are very underfunded.

“It doesn’t matter which government is in Westminster, Tory or Labour or a Plaid Cymru government in Cardiff, we don’t have enough money.

He stressed that the school closure proposal needed to be looked at with “different eyes” and not just the purely financial lens.

“People don’t have cars they can jump into and take their children to Six Bells or Tillery street campus,” said Cllr Day.

Cllr George Humphreys (Cwm – non-aligned Independent) said : “Unfortunately we’re in a world financial crisis.

“What could have been done differently to prevent this from happening?

“As this could be another school tomorrow.”

Cabinet member for education Sue Edmunds (Labour – Ebbw Vale North) said: “We don’t control school funding, every time a child goes to school they take with them a pot of money.

“Declining numbers will always affect the ability to fund a school.

“We cannot fund 340 empty desks at Abertillery, because there are no children with pots of money to fund those desks.

“Beyond funding schools differently, I don’t think anything could have been done.

“Unless the Welsh Government changes the formula we will continue to have this problem.”

Chief education officer Joanne Sims said that all three (ALC) primary campuses would not be financially viable as stand-alone primary schools

“They are operating at 20 per cent, 30 per cent and 40 per cent surplus spaces,” said Ms Sims

Cllr Julie Holt (Abertillery and Six Bells – opposition Independent) said: “This is going to increase inequality, I really feel there has to be an alternative.”

Joint Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen councils chief executive Steven Vickers said: “We can’t look at this in isolation.

“Our responsibility is not just about the preservation of sites; it is to secure the best possible education for current and future generations of children across the borough.

“This is the best way of delivering high quality education over the longer term, and the best way to protect the council and the wider council services.”

Eventually a vote was held – which saw 16 councillors vote in favour of going ahead with the closure and 14 voting against.

Dubbed a “super school,” ALC was created in September 2016.

The school came into being following a merger of Roseheyworth Road, Six Bells Road and Tillery Street primary schools, and Abertillery Secondary School.

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