Ceredigion primary schools 'overcrowded' after closure

Cwmpadarn school shut in 2015

Overcrowding could mean primary school places in part of Ceredigion dry up, councillors have said.

Ceredigion council is selling Cwmpadarn school, Aberystwyth, for £350,000 after shutting it, saying others had empty spaces to absorb extra pupils.

Two of those schools, Llanilar and Comins Coch, are due to have extensions approved on Tuesday amid claims they are "not fit for purpose".

The council said the extensions were needed to comply with guidelines.

It said it needed to provide disabled facilities and enough toilets under Welsh Government rules, the school admissions number would remain the same and the reason for the extensions were not to create more capacity.

Paul James, who represents the Sulien ward, said overcrowding meant pupils at Comins Coch were being taught in corridors and the county could struggle to find school places for children in future due to closing Cwmpadarn.

He said developing the site into housing would aggravate the problem as, alongside other development plans in the area, there would likely be hundreds more children needing school places.

Extensions to Comins Coch (pictured) and Llanilar are due to be approved on Tuesday

"Where are we going to put them? The council says there are enough empty spaces but we may have to build another school or build extensions with taxpayers' money instead," he said.

Gareth Davies, councillor for Padarn, added: "The last thing we wanted is, in a few years, for the education authority to turn around and say we haven't got enough room for all these pupils."

He added the area around Cwmpadarn school would not be able to cope with extra traffic if the site is developed into housing - giving rise to safety issues for road users and pedestrians and the threat of flooding.

Ceredigion council said significant development of the Cwmpadarn site will likely require planning permission, which is "detailed and considers the potential effect of proposed developments on local communities, including traffic and safety considerations".

Responding to local campaigns for a play park at the site, the council said its development plan took this into account.