Council approves £141k transfer to make sure school extension goes ahead

Bridgend Council has approved a transfer of funding to ensure the development of a new school building can still go ahead. The authority approved the re-allocation of £141,000 at this month's full council meeting in order to develop an active travel route and highway improvements associated with a classroom expansion at Bryntirion Comprehensive School.

The new extension on the site is expected to contain a block of four classrooms when completed and was approved after the school was said to be operating at capacity with a number of new housing developments planned for the catchment area anticipated to add further pressures.

However, as part of the planning approval for the building, conditions were added that a number of active travel and highway improvements would first be made. The report read: "Planning approval for the teaching block stipulated that active travel/highway improvements shall be implemented in permanent materials before the accommodation is brought into beneficial use."

READ MORE: Huge development plan including 7,000 new homes in Bridgend given the green light

READ MORE: The 'traumatised' residents living in damp and mouldy homes because of an energy saving scheme

It means before any construction on the new school building can start infrastructure works such as the creation of a new walking/cycling route along with dropped kerbs and signage would first have to be completed. In order to pay for the work Bridgend Council applied for Welsh Government funding as part of a wider programme in Bryntirion though officers told members that this bid had been unsuccessful.

They added that in order for the scheme to progress the authority would now have to re-purpose funding from its school modernisation budget using cash from underspends on projects in Brynmenyn, the Garw Valley, and Mynydd Cynffig.

Members later voted unanimously to approve the transfer so the first stages of work can get under way. The expansion of Bryntyrion Comprehensive School is now expected to be completed by January of 2025 with the space coming in to use in February of 2025. For the latest Bridgend news sign up to our newsletter here.