COUNCIL chiefs in Carmarthenshire have unanimously backed revised plans for a new special school in Llanelli.
The new Ysgol Heol Goffa will be built by Ysgol Pen Rhos, nearly four miles from its current home, and cater for 150 pupils aged three to 19 with severe learning difficulties or profound and multiple learning difficulties.
If, when and where the new school would be built has been the subject of debate and controversy for years, especially when a previous proposal for a new Ysgol Heol Goffa was dropped by the council in 2024 on cost grounds.
An independent review of specialist education in the Llanelli area was then commissioned by the council.
Cllr Glynog Davies, cabinet member for education, told cabinet colleagues on June 1 that the school has offered excellent education but needed more space. “We need to change sites,” he said, adding that the planned new school would have 30 places more than the previously proposed one.
Cllr Davies said he was confident the Welsh Government would support the project and provide 75% of the funding needed. “The scheme I’m proposing is an excellent one,” he said.
A scrutiny meeting about the proposal last month heard it was expected to cost £35 million to build, with the council in line for a 25% contribution. Planning permission and Welsh Government funding will be needed and the aim is for it to open in September 2029.
Ysgol Heol Goffa had 132 pupils on its roll as of January this year and a capacity of 118. The cost per pupil, given the additional support required, is £29,595 per year.
Cllr Edward Thomas seconded the proposal at the cabinet meeting. “I’m sure that parents and children and staff at Heol Goffa will be looking forward to an enlarged school with greater capacity,” he said.
