Consultation Launches For Proposed New Primary School in Brymbo

Plans have been put forward to build a new primary school to help serve the ‘expanding population’ of a Wrexham village. 

In an application put forward by Wrexham Council it is proposed that the new school will be located on Heritage Way, Brymbo and will replace the existing St Marys Primary School.

The proposed site forms part of the former Brymbo Steelworks site and has been put forward for development due to the current school buildings reaching a ‘critical point in their life cycle where energy costs and repair costs are being significant and increasingly less sustainable’.

If approved the new school will be a 1½ form entry and will incorporate some expansion space to cater for future need. It will have a maximum capacity of 420 places plus 45 places for nursery and Special Education Need provision.

Wrexham Council have this week launched a public consultation to find out the views of interested parties regarding the proposals.

The Design and Access Statement, produced by Wrexham Council, states that the proposed development of the new Brymbo School site is for a two storey building. The exact siting of the building is yet to be decided but initial thoughts are to place it centrally on the site to form screen between the carpark and the external play areas.

According to the statement, the existing school buildings were constructed in the 1900’s to provide education for the expanding population of the Brymbo area of Wrexham. The buildings are now reaching a critical point in their life cycle where the energy costs and repair costs are becoming significant and increasingly less sustainable.

Further details within the Design and Access Statement, says: “An entrance will be constructed off the existing access road off Heritage Way to provide a legible and supervised access point to the school from a proposed drop off point.

It is proposed that an application for funding be made for funding from the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools programme, commencing in 2019.

Lead Member for People – Children’s Services & Education, Cllr Michael Williams, said: “As an authority, we continue to press ahead with the 21st Century Schools programme, which is being delivered on-time and well within budget.

“The new development at St Mary’s is a priority for us, especially in the light of positive developments to the neighbouring Brymbo link road.

“As well as helping us move forward with the 21st Century Schools Programme, the new development would also ensure that the school meets our Lifelong Learning objectives by providing nursery and special education provisions, supporting Welsh Medium Education and providing facilities such as improved play areas and flexible learning areas that can be used by pre and after school clubs and for wider local community use.”

Local Member for Brymbo, Paul Rogers, added: “This will be an opportunity to provide a 21st Century learning environment for local children with modern internal and external facilities where we can reach beyond the constraints of the existing building. It is part of a larger redevelopment project for the local area including new roads and housing.

“The proposed site on Heritage Way is part of the former Brymbo steelworks site, where an ambitious masterplan is also being carried out by the Brymbo Heritage Group so this is very positive news for the local community and for Brymbo.

“I’ve been very happy to work with the Council Officers to put this consultation together and I hope for a very positive response.”

The consultation featuring the outline proposals will be available to view at the Heritage Enterprise Centre, Blast Road, Brymbo, LL11 5BT from Monday 5th December until Monday 2nd January, 2017.

The plans are also available to view online on the Council’s website