PLANS for a new 630-place school in the Bettws area of Newport have drawn a mixed reaction from the community.
The city council wants to merge Millbrook and Monnow primaries from September 2026 and start work on building a new £18 million school a year later.
The new school has been earmarked for the vacant Millbrook Primary site, which was demolished after safety inspectors found structural problems in the main building.
Most of Millbrook’s pupils have spent the past three years learning in temporary classrooms in Brynglas.
Monnow Primary, meanwhile, is in “poor condition” and suffering from a backlog of “continuing maintenance issues” estimated at £1.4 million, according to a council report.
Given both primaries are also facing surplus places, and there is “not enough money to build two new schools”, the council believes amalgamation is the best way forward.
But during a recent consultation exercise – which gathered more than 150 responses – opinions were split, with a slight majority (56%) telling the council they did not support the plans.
Common issues included concerns about traffic and parking, and the council said it would “develop a proposal which has the least impact on the local area”.
Some critics also suggested the Monnow Primary site was more appropriate for a new school, but the council said building work was “likely to be quicker on a vacant site”.
The council also said Monnow Primary has more flood risk, and redevelopment of the site would result in some pupils “quite likely needing to be relocated” to temporary classrooms during the construction phase.
On concerns about Monnow pupils having to travel further to school, the council said the catchment area was “little more than one mile” and walking distances were deemed “acceptable”.
Teaching trade union NASUWT also rejected the council’s proposal “in its current form”, and said the local authority should be “transparent” about the impact on staff.
It said the security of jobs “needs to be guaranteed” for staff already employed at the two primary schools affected.
In response, the council said it was “unable to fully confirm and guarantee employment within the new school at this time, as the staffing structure has not yet been determined”.
“However, the council will make every effort to secure roles for as many employees as possible within the new staffing structure, through ringfencing and direct-matching roles,” the local authority added.
The consultation report showed some 26% of respondents agreed with the council’s proposals, and the remaining 18% offered their support in part.
However, support for the merger and new school was much higher among pupils and staff at the two primaries than among other members of the community, such as parents.
The council is expected to push ahead with the proposals and issue a statutory notice in early June, providing a window for any legal objections to be submitted.
