Document
Objections
In total 297 written objections were received during the objection period. These objections have been carefully considered by officers and responses are included in this report. The objections must be carefully considered by Members, alongside the arguments in favour of the proposal and in light of the factors set out in section 1 of the School Organisation Code
Not all objectors identified themselves other than giving their name, but of those that did the following categories were noted:
- Alltwen, Godre’rgraig or Llangiwg primary schools
- 28 parents/carers
- 2 members of staff
- 4 Governors/Governing Bodies
- Resident/community member of the Swansea Valley
- 16
- Other Swansea Valley schools
- 3 parents
- 2 Governors/Governing Bodies
- Resident from outside Swansea Valley
- 8
Objections were also received from:
- Cllr. Andrew Nicholson
- MS Sioned Williams
- Tegwech
- Menter Iaith
- RHag
- UCAC
- Ty'r Gwrhyd
- Cemdeithas yr Iaith
- Dyfodol i'r Iaith
- Lullaby's Nursery
- Pontardawe Town Council
- Ystalyfera Community Council
- Cilybebyll Community Council
Two further written objections were received on 16th July 2021, after the closing date, these have been included for consideration.
A number of the emails received were largely or wholly in standardised form.
Of particular note, 92 emails were received which stated:
I object to the school proposal in the Swansea Valley. I do not believe that this is the best solution for education in our community and feel that it has been a rushed process and forced on us and our children from people from outside of our area.
I specifically feel that the proposal will be:-
- Worst for education
- Have a negative impact on traffic
- a negative impact on local communities
35 of the objections received related specifically to the concerns that the proposal could negatively impact on the development of the Welsh language, 13 of these being standard emails, with some personalisation.
Copies of all written objections have been made available to Members to consider prior to the meeting of the Council’s Cabinet on 20th October 2021 at which the proposal will be determined. Members will have also received and considered, prior to that meeting, this Objection Report.