Anglesey school closures: Bodffordd primary set to escape axe

Campaigners had campaigned to stop the council's planned closure of Bodffordd school

A 69-pupil village primary school on Anglesey is set to be spared the axe as a new reorganisation plan is drawn up.

A £16m shake-up in the Llangefni area would have seen a new school replace Ysgol Bodffordd and Ysgol Corn Hir.

Ysgol Bodffordd now looks to be safe following opposition from within and outside the council chamber.

Dylan Rees, deputy chair of the school's governors, said people would be "delighted" with the reprieve.

In January, the council voted to press ahead with consultation on closing Ysgol Bodffordd despite claims it went against Welsh Government guidance that councils should do all they can to keep rural schools open.

However, the plan was put on hold as the authority's attention turned to the coronavirus crisis.

Revised plans still propose a replacement for Ysgol Corn Hir, and the closure of Ysgol Talwrn with its pupils moving to an expanded Ysgol y Graig.

"I have always supported the urgent need for a new school to be built for Ysgol Corn Hir but not at the expense of closing the thriving village school in Bodffordd," Mr Rees told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Residents also feared for the future of the village's community centre if the school next to it closed

"When the consultation first took place, there were those who stated the process was a sham and that everything had already been decided.

"However, it is clear that council officers have listened to the crescendo of representations that have been made and have altered their recommendations accordingly, which is to their credit."

Council chief executive Annwen Morgan said the revamp had been one of a number of projects put on hold due to the pandemic.

"Whilst the decision to suspend the school modernisation process in Llangefni was certainly the right decision initially, it cannot be delayed indefinitely - especially as we still have no real understanding of when this crisis will end," she said.

The new proposals will be discussed by members of a scrutiny committee next week.