Draw Back from the Brink’ Say Powys Lib Dems on Dolau School Closure

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Group, the largest opposition group on Powys County Council, has re-stated its strong opposition to the proposed closure of Llanfihangel Rhydithon (Dolau) Primary School and is once more urging the Council’s Conservative/Independent Cabinet to ‘draw back from the brink’ and reject the recommendation from officers to close the school. The Cabinet will make a final decision on Tuesday 8^th February.

Commenting on the situation, Welsh Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr James Gibson-Watt said:-

“If the Cabinet goes ahead with the plans to close the school from August this year, the writing will be on the wall for all rural schools in Powys. This school is delivering excellent education for its pupils, as it has done for many years, and is operating in close collaboration with Llanelwedd Primary School. This is exactly the model of future primary school provision that we want to see of clusters of schools working together as a means of securing a geographical spread of school provision across this most rural of counties. Yet this Cabinet seems intent on ‘picking off’ small schools without any thought for the long-term consequences for our communities.”

“I also believe that the current school closure programme goes against both the spirit and the letter of the Welsh Government’s Rural Schools Policy. So, I am writing to the Leader of the Council, Cllr Rosemarie Harris, to urge her to re-think the Cabinet’s approach and engage with councillors from across all council groups to develop a schools strategy that enjoys broad political support. The Cabinet’s current road is just taking the Council towards conflict with its communities and is the road to nowhere.”

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