Wales' only thermal spring could help heat Taff's Well school

The 19th Century natural thermal spring attraction fell out of use in the 1950s

The powers of a thermal spring that is believed to have attracted the Romans two thousand years ago could be used to "innovatively" heat part of a school.

The plans would see Wales' only thermal spring, popular in the 19th Century for its reputed healing properties, heat rooms at a Rhondda Cynon Taf school.

Ffynnon Taf Primary School in Taff's Well could use water from the thermal spring the village is named after, which runs constantly at 21C (70F).

The planned project could cost £3m.

The spring on the outskirts of Cardiff emerges on the eastern bank of the River Taff and has been contained within a brick well structure and building.

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The brick-lined well inside the Grade II-listed building has fallen into disrepair but Rhondda Cynon Taf council wants the power of the spring to heat a new school block alongside the Victorian-style main building.

The proposed new block - which will be considered by council planners in "due course" - will house four classrooms, a new school hall and an upgrade of the existing yard.

An artist impression of how the new block at Ffynnon Taf school could look

The planned scheme will increase the school's capacity in preparation for potential nearby housing developments.

It is part of a wider project of the Taff's Well Thermal Spring Heat Network Project to use Wales' only natural thermal spring as a source of low-carbon heat for the village.

Little is known about the well's early history but it is referred to in an 1833 book as "sometimes called ffynnon dwym or the tepid well".

The well is thought to have been used mainly by locals until the mid-18th Century but its popularity grew following stories of its healing powers.

The potential for carbon neutral energy from the Taff's Well spring is being investigated

Its fortunes faded into the 20th Century but it reopened in 1930 and a swimming pool was later built alongside, using the well's water.

"It is a particularly exciting project, proposing to use Wales' only naturally occurring thermal spring to heat a new school extension - along with solar power to compensate for any electricity used in the process," said councillor Joy Rosser.

"One of the council's major ongoing priorities is to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 - and this is a very innovative project towards that goal which can't be replicated anywhere else in Wales."