Parc y Werin: 'Mistake' apology over Gorseinon school costs report

The loss of trees and green space to make way for a new school has prompted objections

A senior Swansea councillor has denied trying to sideline environmental concerns over plans to build a school.

Residents tried to get Parc y Werin in Gorseinon designated as a village green to thwart the project.

Jennifer Raynor, cabinet member for education, said it was a "mistake" that a report on the plan failed to mention a council objective to maintain parks.

She claimed there would be an "outcry" if the £6.9m primary school with space for 420 pupils was further delayed.

The plan was approved in 2015 and is intended to replace Gorseinon Primary School, which council leaders say is in poor condition.

The new school premises would take over 37% of the existing park.

Swansea Council's scrutiny committee stepped in after a cabinet report on rising costs for the project listed five of the council's corporate objectives.

But it omitted the sixth - the one about maintaining and enhancing Swansea's natural resources and biodiversity.

'Cut-and-paste job'

Councillor Jeff Jones asked Ms Raynor about the omission and said he hoped council objectives would not be applied selectively, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

She replied: "I put my hands up. That was a mistake. The report required none of the objectives to be listed. It was a procedural, financial report.

"Apologies, it was not there, it was a simple cut-and-paste job."

• Residents oppose 'village green' school

• Gorseinon park school plans approved

Earlier, local objector Crispian Huggill claimed the cabinet was "driving a coach and horses" through the biodiversity objective.

Peter Jones, the councillor who advocated the objective, claimed there was very little biodiversity on the site where the new school was to be built, which currently consists of two mini-pitches, a car park and playground.

The committee decided it was satisfied with the cabinet member's explanations, but recommended biodiversity should be part of the assessment of such projects in future.

The project has been delayed pending two applications for village green status, the second of which was rejected in 2018.