Calls for investigation into why delays have hit the opening of a new school building

Councillor Graham Breeze wants assurances that the once the new school is handed over there will be a full and thorough investigation into the handling of the project.

A new, 150-place Welsh medium school is being built at the Ysgol Maesydre site and should have been open by the end of the year.

But the council says supply chain issues have delayed the project and it won't now open until the summer term.

The old Grade II listed Maesydre building will be refurbished to accommodate early years and community facilities and a new extension will be built to include a new school hall and classroom bases. The building will also be the first Passivhaus hybrid project in the UK. Construction work began last November and was originally due to last 12 months.

Councillor Breeze has asked Powys Council what the total cost of the project will now be, what the projected cost was before the Ysgol Maesydre building was listed and what had been the total cost of maintaining the former Ardwyn School site during the period of ongoing delays.

He said that pupils and staff should have long vacated the Ardwyn School site, which is no longer fit for purpose, to move into a new purpose-built school on the site of the former Ysgol Maesydre – a decision that was approved in December 2020.

"Pupils and staff from Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng were forced to vacate the Ardwyn School site due to heating issues on December 12 and it is only thanks to the support of Welshpool Town Council offering the Town Hall as an alternative that their education has been able to continue," Councillor Breeze said.

"This development has suffered several setbacks and spiralling costs since approval."

In response to a series of questions from Councillor Breeze, the cabinet member for learning, said Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng will open its new doors to pupils at the start of the summer term.

He said the the Welsh Government approved funding envelope for the project was £9,110,566.

"This reflects the current scheme which includes both the listed building and new build elements, due to the fact that the original project had to be changed following the listing of the old Ysgol Maesydre building."

"We are currently reviewing final costs with the contractor and will be in a position to confirm these in the new year," Councillor Peter Roberts said.

"As it currently stands, Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng is going to be operating from their current site for an additional three months – any costs of maintaining the building during this period will be kept to a minimum, unless is of an urgent nature."