New primary school and allotments move a step closer

Work to provide residents of Kenfig Hill with all-new primary school premises and modern community allotment facilities has made fresh progress.

Bridgend County Borough Council is working closely alongside the teachers, staff and pupils of Mynydd Cynnfig Primary School as well as members of the Pwllygath Allotments Association to ensure the local community can benefit from new investments worth millions of pounds.

The project aims to deliver new premises for Mynydd Cynffig Primary School which will replace ageing buildings and infrastructure with modern educational facilities.

Capable of supporting up to 420 local children while offering an additional 75-place nursery, the new modern premises will mean that pupils will no longer need to be taught within temporary classrooms, and will also fully resolve the school’s former split-site status.

Because the new school needs to be constructed partly upon council-owned land that was being used for local allotments, the council also intends to provide an all-new, purpose-built allotment site featuring enhanced facilities and access.

Located to the rear of the new primary school, the new allotment site will feature high-quality soil guaranteed to meet specific standards, security fencing, improved access to plots, space for parking and a replacement pigeon loft.

In addition, each of the 26 plots will feature a hardstanding space complete with a new shed, a water butt and new timber fencing with gated access. Where requested, chicken coops can also be provided.

This multi-million pound investment into new facilities is going to benefit generations of local people for years to come. I would like to thank teachers, governors, staff, pupils, parents and carers as well as members of the Pwllygath Allotments Association for agreeing to work alongside us, and help us to ensure that the community does not miss out. In recognition of the temporary inconvenience that this project will unavoidably cause, we are doing everything we can to provide the allotment plot holders with a high-quality replacement site.

We have arranged for all materials that the plot holders want to transfer across to be held in storage until the new site is ready, and have agreed a plan that will ensure the original site’s pigeons can be temporarily relocated. Necessary ground investigations have been commissioned in preparation for the new primary school, and road safety audits are being undertaken on a potential highway layout. Both of these will help to inform any final planning application that is submitted for the new school, and designs are being prepared in support of this.

We have also held engagement sessions with school pupils on active travel arrangements which, once evaluated, will be considered and incorporated into the workstream for the project. As I have said previously, this is all about providing the people of Kenfig Hill with new facilities, not taking away existing ones, and it is great to see how everyone is working together to deliver this new investment for the benefit of local residents.

Deputy Leader Jane Gebbie