Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council looks set to oppose Powys County Council’s proposal to shut Treowen Primary School and send pupils to the new and yet-to-be-built Ysgol Calon y Dderwen as the consultation nears to a close.
Councillors said that they prefer to offer an alternative model of one school, comprising of Treowen, Calon y Dderwen and Maesyrhandir, to serve all pupils but operating over three existing sites which they say will provide better choice and support for pupils who flourish best in small settings.
The town council will discuss their draft response at the full council meeting on Monday evening (February 26); the public consultation closes on the same day.
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The council raised that with the potential for at least 200 homes to be built on land between Treowen and the Newtown Bypass, there would be a need for a school setting in the area to cope with extra families.
Congestion issues near Ysgol Calon y Dderwen, PCC’s “questionable” travel times for pedestrians and vehicles which were described as “extraordinarily fast”, and extra funding to build a new school “may not be guaranteed” were also raised by the town council.
The draft response added that there seems “no over-riding strong case to exclude of Maesyrhandir CP School from the proposal over Treowen CP school and doing do risks leaving it exposed to decline or downgrade in an area of social deprivation”.
“The town council is of the view that whilst some pupils with protected characteristics may gain from a larger social milieu, others may not and may flourish more in a small setting. In particular those with mobility difficulties may have considerable difficulty coping with the gradients between Treowen CP and Ysgol Calon Y Dderwen.
“By taking a model of one school, comprising Treowen CP, Ysgol Calon Y Dderwen and Maesyrhandir CP, able to serve all pupils equally but operating over three existing sites will provide better choice and support for those pupils with protected characteristics who may flourish best in small settings.”
People have days left to have their say on the proposals to close Treowen School and merge with Ysgol Calon y Dderwen from September 2025 before moving into a new building in Park Street during 2026 or 2027.
All responses must be received online at www.haveyoursaypowys.wales/ysgol-calon-y-dderwen-and-treowen-c-p-school by Monday, February 26.
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