Planning consent for new Glyn-coch school and community hub

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, alongside its partner Welsh Government, has achieved a major milestone towards delivering a new primary school and community hub for Glyn-coch – with planning permission now secured for the development. 

Providing a new school for the community is a long-established goal for the Council, and the project has developed in recent years. Cabinet progressed the proposals in 2022 following a public consultation, and in March 2023 the project was announced as one of only three successful proposals in Wales to receive 100% grant funding (up to £15 million) from Welsh Government’s Sustainable Schools Challenge.

The Sustainable Schools Challenge sought bids from all Local Authorities throughout Wales, for proposals which demonstrated innovative and collaborative design, development and delivery of truly sustainable schools. The new primary school for Glyn-coch will be the first of the projects to start construction.

The school will welcome pupils from Cefn Primary and Craig yr Hesg Primary, serving their combined catchment area. It will be built on the current Craig yr Hesg Primary site and its adjacent land. The English Medium school will include a nursery and Learning Support Classes, with a Welsh Medium childcare facility also accommodated within the building.

On Thursday, January 30, the Planning and Development Committee considered the Council’s application, granting full permission to demolish the existing building, and construct a two-storey replacement primary school with community facilities, car parking, two Multi Use Games Areas, a grass sports pitch, and playgrounds. Associated landscaping and drainage works are also included within the permission, along with an improved access off Cefn Lane.

The school will be built on the part of the site where the now-demolished Ty Gwyn Unit was located. Vehicles will access the site off an existing entrance that previously served the unit, with a pedestrian access off Cefn Lane and a secondary pedestrian access being created to the west of the site. The staff/visitor car park will include 43 spaces and five EV charging bays.

Officers recommended the application for approval in a report to Thursday’s planning meeting. It was noted that the site has been long-established for primary education use, while the new development will bring state-of-the-art facilities for Glyn-coch, along with community use. It was also noted that the new school would visually improve upon the current site, and would not increase disruption to the community or have a negative effect on highway safety. Safe Routes in the Community works will be planned to improve safe walking routes to school and active travel will be strongly encouraged.

The development will achieve ‘Net Zero’ carbon in operation, as well as exceeding current Welsh Government targets for reductions in embodied carbon within the construction itself, all of which contribute to the climate change goals and commitments of the Council and Welsh Government. As part of the project’s successful application to the Sustainable Schools Challenge, it was noted that the design proposals will include green technologies such as rain gardens and nature-based solutions to managing surface water. The project is also targeting Passivhaus Standard, Building With Nature accreditation, and the WELL Building Standard – which focuses on creating healthy environments for building users to support wellbeing.

Pupils, school staff and community groups have been heavily involved in the design process, and their input will continue to be sought – to ensure the school meets everyone’s needs. A Community Stakeholder Forum has also been established to shape the dedicated community facilities that the site offers, made up of local representatives and Council service areas.

Lynne Neagle, Cabinet Secretary for Education, said: “Planning consent marks an important step forward in the new school building development underway here at Glyn-coch. I am delighted to see work on this innovative new primary school is progressing so well thanks to over £15 million of funding from our Sustainable Schools Challenge.

“What better way to embed our commitments towards reducing carbon emissions and tackling climate change, than for children, staff and communities to help with the design, build and management of this new zero carbon learning environment.”

Councillor Rhys Lewis, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Inclusion, and the Welsh Language, said: “I’m delighted the new school and community hub for Glyn-coch has received planning consent, enabling our major investment with Welsh Government to go ahead. In our successful bid to the Sustainable Schools Challenge, we demonstrated the project’s innovative green principles, its community uses, and environmental credentials, all of which were considerations in the project’s design.

“The project is much-needed in Glyn-coch, to replace two school buildings that each have a large backlog of maintenance, with a first-class facility that is suitable to deliver the Curriculum for Wales. Cefn Primary and Craig yr Hesg Primary are located a short distance apart and are closely associated, having formed a federation more than a decade ago and operated under a single executive headteacher since. There was also significant community support for this investment displayed during a public consultation process in 2022.

“This investment for Glyn-coch will become the latest new school to be delivered alongside Welsh Government – with Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llyn y Forwyn moving into their new building in January 2025. That followed three new schools for Hawthorn, Cilfynydd and Rhydyfelin in September 2024, as part of a £79.9m investment across Greater Pontypridd. Llanilltud Faerdref Primary and Penygawsi Primary also received new buildings in 2024 – with another project at Pontyclun Primary progressing towards delivery imminently.

“With planning permission now secured, I’m looking forward to seeing the Glyn-coch project being further developed towards its delivery – and the Council will communicate to residents when details about the construction phase are finalised. We’ll also ensure residents, young people, and school staff continue to be at the heart of the process in shaping their school and community hub.”

The Council was also pleased to have recently welcomed colleagues from Cyngor Gwynedd and Neath Port Talbot Council, the other two Local Authorities that secured funding from Welsh Government via the Sustainable Schools Challenge, to a workshop in Rhondda Cynon Taf. These activities are ongoing throughout the delivery of the projects, and such collaboration and sharing of ideas will feed into a case study to inform the wider Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, and strengthen commitments towards decarbonisation and environmental protection in particular.