Cymer Afan comprehensive set to be demolished after closure

The 229-pupil Cymer Afan comprehensive school was the "heart" of the Upper Afan Valley, according to locals

A secondary school that closed last week after a lengthy legal battle could soon be demolished.

Cymer Afan Comprehensive in Port Talbot was shut after 87 years despite a campaign by the community to keep it open.

Pupils will start at a new "super school" at Ysgol Cwm Brombil, Margam, in September.

Neath Port Talbot's cabinet is set to approve plans to demolish the building before it suffers vandalism or arson.

In a report, it said: "To limit the council's exposure to the risk of vandalism and arson it would be prudent to appoint a contractor as a matter of urgency so they can make arrangements to secure the school site, employ their own security, carry out further surveys, disconnect live services and demolish all buildings to floor level."

The report added the school contained asbestos in many of the rooms, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The school building is in the upper Afan Valley

Ward councillor Scott Jones said: "I strongly believe the building needs to remain a part of the valley's heritage and that it can be put to good use within the community.

"I have written to the relevant council departments strongly advocating the need to explore alternatives other than demolition."

A council spokesman said: "We have concluded that our primary responsibility to the local community is to secure the site safely in the short term and make arrangements to ensure the school does not become an eyesore and potentially a location for anti-social behaviour."

The local authority voted to close the school last year with its pupils relocating to the new Ysgol Cwm Brombil in Margam.

A campaign group which fought to retain the school took the local authority to court over the issue.

But two different judges dismissed their application for a judicial review.