School posing 'significant risk' handed £500k for urgent repairs
A survey report by Trident identified 750 faults at Ysgol Greenhill School in Tenby
Damage at Ysgol Greenhill School in Tenby.
(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service )
Formal approval has been granted for more than £500,000 worth of urgent repairs to be made at a Tenby school, although concerns have been raised that the escalating need was only discovered by one of the governors through press reports.
A special individual Cabinet member meeting of Pembrokeshire Council saw council leader Jon Harvey award a £555,946.17 contract to Trident Engineering GBR Ltd to undertake urgent concrete repair and protection works at Ysgol Greenhill School. A survey report by Trident identified 750 faults at the school following a survey in July 2024, with additional inspections carried out this February.
The defects included concrete, cracks (horizontal and vertical) in concrete slabs, beams, columns and soffits, failed repairs, failed coatings, honeycombing to concrete, damage/cracks in panels, cracking to brickwork, with an increase in defective areas across the structure since the July survey. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here .
The members largely agreed in noting the justification behind the urgent decision made by the council leader. "We have observed an alarming acceleration in corrosion-related degradation due to the saline environment, leading to further concrete fracture, spalling, and delamination," the report stated.
(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service )
It further added: "This deterioration poses a significant risk, as sizeable debris has been witnessed falling from the structure, endangering pedestrians and potentially damaging vehicles and surrounding infrastructure.
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"Our recent revisit surveys indicate that the cracks are expanding monthly, and the overall degradation is expected to worsen as thermal movement increases in response to climatic changes.
"We recommend undertaking the necessary remedial works with immediate effect. If we delay initiating the works, we will incur additional surveillance costs, which could have been avoided.
"Moreover, it is of utmost importance to note that some columns have lost enough structural mass to bring their integrity into question. Trident cannot endorse the continued use of the structure unless emergency repairs are initiated promptly."
Since the awarding of that contract, a report was presented at the May meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, and councillors were urged to acknowledge the decisions taken at the emergency meeting.
Councillor Harvey, supporting the proposal, mentioned that work on the school is making good progress. School governor councillor Alistair Cameron questioned whether there was any risk of increasing costs, and he received assurances that there are no such worries at present.
Councillor Alec Cormack, also a governor, voiced his concerns over how information regarding the sudden need for works was communicated, revealing he only found out about the urgency following media coverage.
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The council was briefed that prioritisation was being given to the March Road segment of the project, with completion aimed for by September.
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