A new primary school planned as part of a large housing estate in Swansea might not be completed until 2032, councillors heard. The delay could also lead to the closure of a nearby primary school once the new one is built.
Trigger point missed
Persimmon Homes is building 705 homes in Garden Village, near Gorseinon. Under the original 2019 planning consent, the developer must pay £5.2 million before the 201st property is occupied, so the council can build a new 2.5-form primary school.
The consent also required the council's education department to submit a detailed planning application for the school by December 12 this year. The planning committee meeting this week heard that was not possible due to delays with the housing project, partly outside Persimmon Homes' control. The education department therefore applied to extend the December deadline by six years.
Pupil capacity concerns
A committee report said around 65 homes were occupied to date and that the 201st would not be finished until approximately summer 2030 based on current rates. Cllr Peter May said this meant the school would not be open until 2032, to which a council planning officer replied: “As things stand yes, that could obviously change.”
The officer said nearby schools had enough capacity to absorb children moving into the new estate up to around the point the 201st home was occupied. He added that the housing development when completed was only expected to generate enough pupils for a 1.5-form school, but education colleagues had wanted a larger 2.5-form one “so that one of the local schools could possibly be closed down and the children all moved to the one larger site”.
Funding and approval
The report said Persimmon Homes had already contributed a payment of just over £266,000 to the education department to enable it to start designing the new school. The planning officer said, when asked by Cllr Mike White, that the £5.2 million school contribution agreed in 2019 was not linked to inflation.
Cllr Adam Davis asked if the council had any powers to compel Persimmon Homes to keep building and meet the key 201st home trigger point. The planning officer said the council didn't. The meeting also heard that motorists would not be able to use the new estate as a “rat run” between the A484 to the south and Hospital Road to the north as a “bus gate” would prevent it. Councillors went on to approve the time extension application.
