Machynlleth school building could host Welsh language services

The building opened in 2009

A soon-to-be-surplus school building in Powys could house a specialist unit teaching the Welsh language, a county councillor says.

New £48m premises for Ysgol Bro Hyddgen in Machynlleth will include a new library and leisure centre.

Plaid Cymru group leader Elwyn Vaughan says the current sixth-form building could host a Welsh-language immersion unit and business advice teams.

Powys council says it will consider the idea as part of ongoing developments.

The current sixth-form building, known as Canolfan Hyddgen, was opened by the late former first minister Rhodri Morgan in 2009 as one of the first Passivhaus eco-friendly buildings in Wales.

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Councillor Vaughan, who is also a governor of the school, said his suggestion could provide a new use and "clear identity" for the building as a base to promote the Welsh language.

"It is so well placed to serve a large area of north Powys, Gwynedd and Ceredigion and could prove to be a base for a cluster of complementary initiatives," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

New premises are to be built for Ysgol Bro Hyddgen

Business support organisations Menter Iaith Cymru and Menter Maldwyn could be among those finding a home at Canolfan Hyddgen, Mr Vaughan added.

He suggested the presence of a Welsh-language education unit could also help counter the concerns of parents unhappy with a decision to re-classify the school as Welsh medium with the loss of its English-language stream.