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Powys County Times
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Llandinam school set to close as Powys Council begins process
Closing a Powys primary school would 'sweep the carpet' from underneath children in the village, a councillor has said. Powys' Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet met on Tuesday, July 15, when senior councillors agreed unanimously to start the legal process of closing Llandinam primary school by the end of August 2026. This will be done by holding a consultation on the proposal. But the village's local councillor, Reform UK's Cllr Karl Lewis, said he and the community were "absolutely devastated" by the plans. 'I understand the immense pressure the council faces to find savings through cutting services or selling assets, however there are times when exceptional circumstances demand a different approach, and I genuinely believe that Llandinam school represents those exceptional circumstances,' he said. He said the school has a number of children with additional learning needs that came to Llandinam after struggling at schools in Caersws, Llanidloes and Newtown. Cllr Lewis said: 'For many of them Llandinam is the only hope of achieving an education level that will equip them for secondary school.' Closing the school, he said, would 'sweep the carpet from underneath these children and set them back years'. Cllr Lewis continued: 'Our small class sizes allow for personalised attention and a stronger teaching relationship.' He believed that they if the school is closed these children would be lost to the Powys education system and would be home schooled. Cllr Lewis added that a potential development for 50 houses in the village would potentially increase the school numbers. Cllr Lewis said: 'Historic documents clearly show that the Prue-Reid family donated the field with the explicit understanding that if the school ceases to exist, the land and the buildings would return to the village and can never be sold.' He urged all avenues to be explored including a federation with Caersws or Llanidloes primary schools before any consultation starts. Cabinet member for education Cllr Pete Roberts (Liberal Democrat) said: 'Federation was one of the options that was considered and did not meet the criteria.' On the land issues, school transformation manager Sarah Astley said: 'The latest information we have received from the legal team is that there are no restrictions on the use of the land, but we can continue to investigate that.' On children with ALN director of education Dr Richard Jones said that schools that would receive would need to have the 'right support in place to meet the needs of those children'. Council leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat) who has worked as a professional planner in the past, added that the potential housing development is not a certainty. Cllr Berriman said: 'The site has come forward and we are a long way off (finalising) the LPD, and it could fall out of the proposal." The report shows that the school only has 33 pupils currently although claims have been made that the numbers could rise to 39 or even 43 from September. Each pupil costs £7,424 when compared to the Powys average of £5,214. The school building is also defined as 'poor with major defects' and it has a maintenance backlog estimated to cost just under £300,000 without the professional fees included.
Wales Online
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
Residents in a part of Wales could face big changes to their bin collections
Residents in a part of Wales could face big changes to their bin collections Reduced collections are 'an option within our sustainable resource strategy,' a senior councillor in Powys has said Generic image of black wheelie bins (Image: Darren Quinton/Reach ) People living in a part of Wales could be facing big changes to their bin collection under new council plans. Residents in Powys have been consulted on general waste collections being changed from three-weekly to monthly. While the changes are not certain to be implemented, a senior Powys councillor has said the change is an "option". The council held a three-month public consultation on how waste should be dealt with in Powys for the next five years and fewer than 200 people gave their views to the council. One of the questions was about a potential move to monthly black bin collections. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . Of the 193 people surveyed, 121 said they would be able to 'cope' with this change. The consultation prompted Reform councillor Karl Lewis (for Llandinam with Dolfor) to ask: 'Does the Liberal Democrat-led administration intend to implement an increase in residual waste collection times from three weeks to four weeks at any point between now and the next full council elections in May 2027?" In response the recycling cabinet member, Lib Dem councillor Jackie Charlton, said: 'There are no current plans to reduce the frequency of residual waste collections although it remains an option within our sustainable resource strategy which is due to be finalised shortly following the engagement exercise, we carried out earlier this year. Article continues below 'We are following the Welsh Government's blueprint for waste and recycling with our weekly collections of recycling and food waste and three weekly collections of residual waste.' The council's research suggested 45% of the waste put into black bins 'could' be recycled. Moving to a four-week collection cycle could be a consequence of not improving recycling rates, said Ms Charlton. 'If all residents were to use the kerbside collection service that we provide to maximise their recycling there would be no requirement to reduce the frequency or capacity of residual collections," she added. 'But there may be a requirement to take other measures if we are to achieve and maintain the Welsh Government's statutory recycling targets.' If the council fails to hit the 70% recycling target that came into force last year, it could be fined by the Welsh Government. Article continues below Powys's current figure is 68%, up from 66% two years ago. The potential fine for failing to hit target works out at around £100,000 for every percentage point it is missed by. The council has said it will be 'increasing awareness and education' to encourage those who don't recycle enough to do so.
