Plans for new primary school move step closer

Nicholas Thomas Local Democracy Reporter

Plans for a new £9 million English medium primary school in Newport will move forward following general support from the community.

Housing developer Redrow is planning to build the new school at its Great Milton Park development off Cot Hill, where up to 1,100 homes have been approved.

According to a Newport City Council report, the school would open in September 2026 in a phased approach, and will eventually welcome 315 pupils.

The school, which will be named in future by a temporary governing body, will also include a 10-place Learning Resource Base for children who have additional learning needs, and a nursery for up to 48 children.

Consultation

A recent public consultation gathered the opinions of residents at the Redrow development, pupils and parents from nearby schools, and the wider community.

The council found 48 of the 79 respondents support the proposal for a new school, with many saying it is “needed on the housing development”.

A further 22 respondents offered partial support for the project – but queried whether other primary schools in the area had spaces available.

The council said there is some capacity at four nearby schools but said this was “not sufficient to accommodate all the children likely to emerge” from Great Milton Park.

Others questioned whether the new school would be “empty” for the first few years because of low demand.

The council said the new primary will be classed as a “growing school” with admissions capped until September 2031, “to allow the school to grow with the size of the development”.

The model had been successful at two other schools in Newport, the council added.

Concerns

The 11 respondents who opposed the new project mainly raised concerns about the new school potentially impacting on residents’ privacy and causing traffic problems.

But the council said the school had been included in plans “available to residents before they purchased their home”.

Issues such as privacy would be considered as part of the planning process, and infrastructure at the development had been developed to encourage “active travel” options like walking and cycling, the council added.

Following the consultation process, Cllr Deb Davies, the local authority’s cabinet member for education, has approved the publication of a statutory notice – which gives interested parties an opportunity to make legal objections to the new school project.

That statutory notice period will run for 28 days before any objections are considered and a final decision on the project can be made.