A Carmarthenshire councillor has demanded an update on what he described as the 'incredibly slow' search for a new site for Ysgol Dewi Sant in Llanelli. Green Party councillor Rob James raised the issue at a full council meeting, asking cabinet member for education, Cllr Glynog Davies, when a planning application might be expected.
Long-running debate
The exchange reignited a long-standing dispute between the Plaid-Independent administration and Cllr James, who previously served as a Labour councillor. Cllr Davies recalled that James had previously 'asked question after question after question' about the school a few years ago.
A previous plan to build a new Ysgol Dewi Sant on Llanerch recreational land was put on hold in 2018 after the Welsh Government, which had approved the project, considered residents' concerns about flooding and other issues. In 2020, the council shelved the £9.1 million Llanerch new-build scheme following discussions with school governors and staff, and began searching for alternative sites.
Feasibility study underway
In April 2025, it emerged that the council was exploring the suitability of the former Llanelli leisure centre site off Park Crescent. At the time, Michael Bassett, chairman of Ysgol Dewi Sant's governing body, expressed pleasure at the development.
At the June 10 council meeting, Cllr Davies noted that Cllr James had been 'in full objection' to the Llanerch project, which Davies believed would have been 'an excellent site'. He added that the school would have opened its doors by now had those plans come to fruition.
Davies said no decisions had been made on the suitability of the leisure centre site and that it would be unwise to pre-empt the ongoing work or set out any timeline. He emphasised that the feasibility study needed to be thorough and ensure any future proposal was sustainable. 'We all have to recognise the scale and complexity of that work,' he said, adding that he would provide an update when something worthwhile could be shared.
Political pressure
Cllr James then asked Davies whether he would 'feel like he failed' if a timeline wasn't set before next year's council elections, given that Ysgol Dewi Sant has been stated as his priority this term. Davies repeated his stance on not pre-empting the work, stating, 'That is the situation.'
A 2017 report by Welsh inspection body Estyn noted that Ysgol Dewi Sant had 467 pupils and that its buildings posed challenges in providing an appropriate learning environment. However, an Estyn inspection seven years later, which reported 439 pupils on the roll, praised extremely positive attitudes to learning encouraged by the acting head teacher's high expectations, but did not mention the buildings.
