Plans to build a brand new £49 million 'super-school' in Machynlleth have been given the green light by Powys County Council after almost a decade in development.
At a meeting of Powys County Council’s planning committee on Thursday, October 31, the committee approved a proposal to build a new 540-place, all ages school at Ysgol Bro Hyddgen.
The development of a new school building for Ysgol Bro Hyddgen has been in the works since 2017, but faced delays following the collapse of the main contractor, at one point deemed to be no longer affordable in the face of spiralling costs and faced a roadblock when Cadw was asked to list the current school building.
After several years in development, the council granted planning permission to the proposal as Powys County Council's principal planning officer Richard Edwards recommended in his report that councillors approve the application with conditional support.
READ MORE: Planning application for £49 million Powys school submitted
On the decision, Glantwymyn County Councillor Elwyn Vaughan said: “It’s very welcome news that Powys Council has granted planning approval to this long awaited development.
“Now that the decision has been made, I’m looking forward to contractors arriving on the site, maybe even as soon as early 2025.
“It’s taken the best part of 10 years to reach this stage, which is why news of the approval is so welcome and so long awaited.
“We’re happy now, but I’m sure there will be even more celebrations later down the line when the project has finally been completed after a long road to get there.”
The new build will be funded by the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, which will fund 65 percent of the project, while the remaining 35 per cent would be funded by the council.
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According to Powys County Council’s plans the replacement building will provide flying start and early years facilities incorporated within primary school setting, secondary provision with post-16 education.
Also included will be an additional learning needs centre and wellbeing provision, as well as a community room and all-weather pitch.
When the application was submitted, Cllr Pete Roberts, Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys, said: “The new building will provide modern facilities for our pupils and teaching staff and help them to deliver an enjoyable and fulfilling education experience for everyone.
“This is an important strategic project for the council as it will help us deliver our commitments in the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan and increase the number of pupils being taught through the medium of Welsh."
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