MORE than £3 million is to be spent on a new dining hall, kitchen and all-weather sports pitch at a Swansea primary school.
The standalone kitchen and dining hall will enable Townhill Community Primary School to provide free school meals to all pupils in line with Welsh Government policy, Swansea Council’s cabinet heard.
The school has been taking forward plans for an all-weather pitch – and has secured some funding from external organisations – and this project will now be rolled into the dining hall one with the aim of cutting costs.
Cabinet members approved the £3.2 million project, which is expected to be completed in April 2025. The aim is that both the dining hall and pitch would be available for community use outside of school hours.
Cllr Robert Smith, cabinet member for education and learning, said the council and Welsh Government-funded scheme was much-needed because the existing canteen had “come to the end of its life”.
Council leader Rob Stewart said the Welsh Government’s universal free school meals programme helped primary pupils who might otherwise go hungry become “the best they can be”.
Arrangements will be in place to ensure pupils still get school meals while the work takes place.
The school’s headteacher, Peter Owen, said he was delighted cabinet had approved a scheme which has been in the pipeline for years.
“The hall will enable us to offer our pupils a much better dining experience – not least because the kitchen team will have a much bigger and better facility for cooking and our pupils will have a bigger, brighter and higher quality dining room to eat their lunch,” he said.
Mr Owen said the hall would also host arts performances by pupils, with more space available for parents than currently.
He added: “The all-weather pitch will be a game-changer for us in providing a superb facility for our pupils to hone their sporting skills.”
Cllr Smith said the project would make a positive difference for youngsters.
“The free school meal programme is a life-line for many families across Swansea during the cost-of-living crisis and we hugely appreciate the support we have received from Welsh Government to deliver this along with our school improvement programme,” he said.
