Completion date for new Bridgend school pushed back by two years
It comes after delays to ecology work at the site which was held up due to the presence of reptiles
Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Ogwr
(Image: Rob Browne )
Bridgend Council's cabinet has approved a new date for the completion of a replacement school site for Ysgol Bro Ogwr based on the outskirts of Bridgend. Under the proposals the Welsh-medium primary school would relocate from its current location at Princess Way, Brackla, to a new-build facility on land off Ffordd Cadfan.
The plans would see the site enlarged to help meet the local demand for places, with 525 places expected for learners aged four to 11 and a 90-place full-time-equivalent nursery.
While the school was initially set to be completed by September 2025 a report given to members said this was no longer achievable because of delays with ecology work at the site, which were held up due to the presence of reptiles.
It also said that the relocation of the reptiles was expected to take place over the summer of 2025 when the rest of the site would be able to be cleared of scrub and bramble.
Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice
It added that with the full planning application for the school currently being finalised a new completion date could be brought forward for September 2027.
Article continues below
This would coincide with the beginning of the 2027-28 school year.
The report read: "The development of the scheme has been challenging due to the ecology issues which has prevented clearance of the Ffordd Cadfan site.
"This has impacted on the original planned implementation date".
The new date was later approved unanimously by councillors in attendance with the project expected to cost around £18.6m.
A consultation on the proposals will also be carried out before the submission of a formal planning application to the council's planning department.
Speaking at the meeting Councillor Martyn Jones of Garw Valley said: "We remain focused on delivering this project, which is now set at September 2027." For the latest Bridgend news sign up to our newsletter here.
Article continues below
The discussions around the school took place at a cabinet meeting in June and came just months after the announcement of new completion date for a replacement school for Mynydd Cynffig Primary in the village of Kenfig Hill. You can read more about the separate £17m project which has recently gone out to tender here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
38 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Housing association to host Big Sleepout 2025 in Abergele
ClwydAlyn will hold the event, organised by Lynda Williams, supported living manager, on October 3. The event will be held at Silver Birch Golf Club in Betws-yn-Rhos, Abergele, with participants spending the night outdoors in solidarity with the homeless. Ms Williams said: "The aim is to shed light on the plight of the 13,000 homeless households across our country. "This includes people sleeping rough, those in unsuitable or temporary accommodation, people who are squatting, or living with family or friends because they have no home of their own. "Everyone deserves a safe, secure, warm home. "By taking part in our Big Sleepout, whether that's in person or virtually, you can show support, spark conversation and help to raise money for the frontline homeless services we provide." ClwydAlyn is also inviting people to take part virtually from their own homes, whether from a garden or living room floor. All funds raised will support ClwydAlyn's homelessness services, which help people take steps toward stable housing and independence. The Big Sleepout is designed to give participants a glimpse into the challenges faced by those without a home, while raising funds for support services. Cris McGuinness, chair of the board at ClwydAlyn, highlighted the scale of the issue in Wales. Mr McGuinness said: "In 2023/2024 over 13,500 households in Wales were assessed as homeless, the highest number since Welsh legislation began. "In the same time period almost 18,000 people were placed into temporary accommodation. "These figures reflect a very real and urgent requirement for support within our communities." ClwydAlyn supports individuals and families facing homelessness for a variety of reasons, including eviction, job loss, health issues, relationship breakdowns, and emergencies such as fires or flooding. The event aims to foster understanding and empathy within the community, while generating donations. To sign up for the Big Sleepout or request more information, email bigsleepout2025@ Donations can be made via the JustGiving page at More information about ClwydAlyn's support services can be found at
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Eisteddfod: Inaugral R Alun Medal awarded to Powys woman
Wenna Bevan Jones was named the inaugural recipient of the R Alun Medal in recognition of her contribution to Welsh culture and community life. The award was created in memory of the late Reverend R Alun Evans, a long-serving member of the Eisteddfod council and a Fellow of the National Eisteddfod, who died shortly after the 2023 Eisteddfod in Llŷn and Eifionydd. Ms Bevan Jones said: "It was a shock, but I appreciate the honour because I remember the family in Llanbrynmair – R Alun and his late father, the Reverend Robert Evans. "My father was a pharmacist in Machynlleth, and I remember that well." Originally from Montgomery, Ms Bevan Jones has spent decades serving the community in West Wales and has been part of a range of cultural, educational and voluntary organisations. She trained as a nurse in Birmingham, where she met her husband, Huw, before relocating to Llandysul when he began working as a psychiatrist at St David's Hospital in Carmarthen and Glangwili Hospital. Ms Bevan Jones said: "He got a job as a psychiatrist, and I decided I needed to get to know the area, so I started going to Merched y Wawr." Her involvement in Merched y Wawr was just the beginning of a lifetime of community service. She has served as a Justice of the Peace and chair of the Ceredigion bench, and has been a governor at Tregroes Primary School and Dyffryn Teifi School. She also served as secretary of the parent-teacher association at both schools. Beyond education, Ms Bevan Jones served on the management board of Theatr Arad Goch, played a leading role in feature programmes, and was the first organiser of the Meals on Wheels scheme in rural Llandysul. She was a member of the food festival committee, a welcoming officer for artists at the Cnapan Folk Festival, and a regular supporter of the learners' society. Despite now being in her 80s, she remains deeply involved in the community. She is secretary and press correspondent for Merched y Wawr Llandysul and has previously served as branch president, secretary of the Dyfed committee, and secretary of the Gwenllian memorial committee in Cydweli. Ms Bevan Jones has made a notable contribution to the Llandysul Cymrodorion Society, acting as secretary and press correspondent for many years and serving as a former president. Her involvement with the society dates back to the 1960s, when she lived in Birmingham. She has also played a vital role in the newspaper Y Garthen, serving on the editorial board and as a correspondent. In 2009, she was admitted to the Gorsedd for her services to the community and culture. Her nomination for the R Alun Medal stated stated: "Wenna works quietly and effectively without seeking recognition – and always entirely through the medium of Welsh. "She prefers to work behind the scenes and does not seek praise." Betsan Moses, chief executive of the National Eisteddfod, said: "The award will be presented annually to an individual who, like R Alun, has made a genuine contribution to supporting, sustaining, and enriching the culture of their local area over a significant period. "The award will keep R Alun's name alive on the lips of the people of Wales for generations to come." Betsan Powys, the daughter of R Alun Evans said: "We are delighted with the idea as it will keep his name alive in the National Eisteddfod, which was such a huge part of his life. "We are equally pleased that the award is being presented to someone who has served her community and region." Ms Bevan Jones is set to be honoured in a special ceremony at the Pavilion on the Eisteddfod Maes at 1.50pm on Sunday, August 3. The National Eisteddfod Wrecsam will take place in Is-y-Coed from August 2 to 9.
Spectator
6 hours ago
- Spectator
Our B&B is the opposite of organic
'You need a Wwoofer,' said the guest as he luxuriated in the big armchair by the roaring fire in our sitting room. We looked at him blankly for a moment before I replied: 'We have a woofer. Two woofers.' And I nodded to the spaniels lying at our feet. 'No, I'm talking about the Wwoof scheme,' he said, a hint of his Welsh accent showing through. 'World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. A Wwoofer is someone who comes to work for you for nothing in return for learning about organic principles.' The simple answer to this would have been to tell him that here at Kitey Towers we follow the opposite of organic principles, which he would have noticed if he had looked out of the window earlier and seen the builder boyfriend with his yellow backpack of pesticide strapped to him, in a state of mesmeric joy, which is how he looks whenever he is wielding a canister of Grazon Pro. It's brilliant stuff, but of course the organic nuts don't like it, because it works. I thought it best, therefore, to charm the B&B guest, who tended to the hippy-dippy, as do all our guests and indeed any guests coming to West Cork for a holiday, by not telling him how much we enjoy using strong chemicals to make our land weed-free, productive and useful, and to produce the lush, grassy meadows on which the horses were grazing, rather than an eyesore of a mess of rancid, toxic old weeds, which is the organic alternative. The guest turned to his wife, sitting on the sofa next to me, and asked her to agree that a Wwoofer was the most marvellous thing. 'Ye-es,' she said with uncertainty. The couple had been running a B&B in New Zealand for ten years and were full of ideas for how we might run ours, though they had now sold up and moved on to very much not running a B&B, very sensibly. 'Yes, these Wwoofers are marvellous. You have to cook for them. But that wasn't a problem for us, was it?' And he nodded to his wife who looked unsure. 'Well it was a lot of work…' she started saying. 'No trouble at all. They just ate whatever you were cooking anyway, didn't they?' 'They ate quite a lot…' she said quietly. But he was insistent. 'Yes, you need to get yourself a couple of Wwoofers.' And he began listing all the ways in which our problems would be solved by a free labour scheme. We are used to this. Everyone who comes to stay with us has ideas for how we could do it better. This is because the big old house on the hill seduces them with her Georgian charm. She's a flirt of a building, full of guile and romance. She looks like she might be wonderful to own. They suggest ways we could renovate her faster, better, and of course more environmentally, with solar panels and air-to-water heating systems that obviously won't work and will switch back to the electric grid and bankrupt us. They get carried away with the endless possibilities they see, not realising what it means to be up against plumbers on Irish time and suppliers selling materials for the special Irish price, which is more than anywhere else in Europe and indeed maybe even the world. Nowhere I have ever been has seemed as expensive as Ireland. How they ever managed to get the price of a small steak, for example, up to €15 in the middle of cow country is a conjuring trick. This year, the Irish sold all their cattle at record prices all at once, then realised they hadn't any stock left to breed off, so beef became rare, if you'll pardon the pun. They'll have to import it back soon, from countries where the cows were live-exported earlier this year, which was as far as Algeria. And, of course, they'll have to buy it from other countries in Europe under which process, somehow, inexplicably, despite Ireland being in the EU, the food enters Ireland from the EU and becomes more expensive, because the Irish government taxes the price back up. I was in a pet shop the other day when the lady told me the price of dog food from Britain had gone up. 'Brexit!' she spat. 'How about I buy some French dog food?' I asked. She said Royal Canin came from France, but the price of that had gone up even more. 'So not Brexit then?' I said, and she said no, she wasn't even sure why she said that. It's just what people say, isn't it? Blame Brexit when the problem is something else they don't understand or don't want to talk about, which in this case is the Irish government taxing the hell out of everything from everywhere. If you are renovating, you need to salvage materials, which the BB is very good at. We can be driving along and he'll spot an old bifold door thrown out on to the street. But it takes time. It means the BB has to do all the work himself, using every bit of ingenuity he possesses to cut corners cost-wise. If we try to employ someone to help, it escalates the costs with years-long delays. We have been waiting for the plumber to come back and finish the main bathroom for so long that the BB has taught himself plumbing in the mean time and is about to finish it himself. According to our guests from New Zealand, if we registered for a couple of Wwoofers we might find a free plumber. We looked up the website. Gaunt lefties with unwashed hair and bad teeth, waxing lyrical about their 'journeys' and their life goals and their dreams. The idea we'd find a plumber in this lot was ridiculous. The BB was so traumatised at the mere thought of allowing vegan hipsters near us that he had to go to his happy place to soothe himself. He strapped on his pump-action pesticide backpack and went off down the driveway to spray weeds with chemicals.
