Over £5m polughed into school’s Welsh language immersion unit
Katy Jenkins, local democracy reporter
Work on Ceredigion’s new schools continues as a £5m boost for a Welsh unit is welcomed.
Progress being made on 21st Century Schools Band B plans includes updated estimated costs for the new Aeron Valley school and Cardigan Primary, with a tender price for the project at Canolfan y Mor also received.
Members of the learning communities overview and scrutiny committee also heard on Wednesday (March 2) that a £5.7million grant application for a Welsh immersion unit at Ysgol Gymraeg, Aberystwyth had been successful.
The 100% will also fund a block of new classrooms, which will add space for an additional 30 pupils at the Welsh-medium primary school.
The estimated costs for Cardigan primary now stand at more than £3million and Aeron Valley costs are almost £11million, a report to committee states.
However, there was good news for councillors because despite the increase in costs, relating to materials and construction in the main, changes to the intervention rate and additional grant funding “the overall contribution from the local authority has reduced since the original submission.”
Work at Cardigan Secondary School started in July last year is should be complete by January 2023 and work at Canolfan y Mor is scheduled to be complete by December this year.
A tender is due to be published for Cardigan Primary, the committee heard, and work due to start in July and the final business case for the Aeron Valley school should be presented to Welsh Government by December 2022, with a opening planned for September 2024.
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Wouldn’t that £5.7m be better spent building afordable housing?
That would leave the Welsh language budget £5.75m short, so it would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. Budgets do not get transferred from one priority area to another in this way. As a result of public protests, the WG is addressing the problem of affordable housing in other ways. The next step in this direction will hopefully be to control the private housebuilding sector and transform the approach to Wales’ housing needs from market-driven to community-driven.
Im assuming folk in afordable and indeed most housing options use accessable and local schools or are you suggesting otherwise ?
We need to know mate…..