A new primary school has finally been given the green light for Kidwelly. It will be built behind the Co-op Foodstore on land bordered by Parc Pendre, Stockwell Forge and Clos y Helyg, and will replace the town’s Victorian-era Ysgol Gwenllian.

The current Ysgol Gwenllian, at the Station Bus Station, had 120 students enrolled in 2018; the new one will accommodate 174 children in eight classes, in addition to a nursery for 30 spaces. The new Ysgol Gwenllian will have a soccer field, a multipurpose playground and a room that can be rented out of school hours. Vehicle access will be through Parque Pendre. The parking lot will have 50 spaces: 20 for employees and 20 for bicycles.

The board’s planning committee approved the new school in 2020, subject to issues such as potential flooding and the environment being addressed, and those issues have since been resolved. Speaking at the committee meeting, its chairman at the time, Cllr Alun Lenny, said: “It’s great to see that Kidwell will soon have a new school, the school they deserve in the 21st century.” Currently, the independent body Plaid Cymru has no timetable or cost to complete the school.

Young children may have to wait longer to start primary school in Carmarthenshire

Kidwelly Labor Adviser Lewis Davies said of the final approval, recently granted: “This is good news for Ysgol Gwenlian – they have been in an outdated school with overcapacity for some time. I’m really happy for them.” He added: “More Middle Welsh in town is great.”

The new site in question forms part of an area earmarked for housing under Carmarthenshire Council’s development plan, but a design and access statement submitted with the planning application states that the owner has not submitted a housing proposal. He added that there are many other sites in Kidwell earmarked for residential development.

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Detailed planning approval was granted earlier this year for 71 houses on the former brickwork site in Dinas Yard, with plans for up to 150 houses in Monksford Street and Stockwell Lane approved.

Meanwhile, the future of Ysgol Mynyddygarreg, around Kidwelly, which was suspended on December last when the members of the cabinet decided to postpone the decision to close, is analyzed in detail together with all other schools in the county as part of an educational review wider.

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