EditorAMMANFORD: Questions raised over future of school land as council stays silent
A Carmarthenshire councillor is demanding answers over land purchased for a new school in Ammanford, after years of promises with no sign of building work on the horizon.
Carmarthenshire County Council confirmed in 2023 — following questions from Green Party councillor Rob James — that it had bought land for a new school in the town, with Welsh-medium provision described as a priority. At the time the purchase was seen as a significant step forward after more than a decade of discussion about modernising education in the area.
But despite the land acquisition, there has been no public update on when — or whether — a school will actually be built there.
Recent council decisions have focused on reconfiguring nursery provision within existing schools, with no corresponding announcement on the new build. That silence has prompted Cllr James to write formally to the Cabinet Member for Education seeking answers.
He wants the council to confirm whether it still owns the land, whether the project remains active, and whether alternative brownfield sites have been fully considered as part of a sustainable approach to development.
Cllr James, who is also the Welsh Green Party‘s Senedd candidate for Sir Gaerfyrddin, said residents had been hearing about new school plans in Ammanford for years without seeing any results.
“The council has even gone as far as purchasing land, yet there is still no clear timeline for when a new school will be built,” he said. “People deserve to know what is happening with the land that has been purchased and whether this long-promised investment is still going ahead.”
The Green councillor said the condition of existing school buildings made the lack of progress all the more frustrating.
“Having visited the schools in Ammanford, I know that the environment in which pupils are being taught in is not fit for purpose,” he said.
The need to modernise education provision in Ammanford has been recognised since at least the early 2010s, when proposals for new and reorganised schools first featured in the council’s Modernising Education Programme. More than a decade on, the community is still waiting for a clear plan — and Carmarthenshire is not alone in facing questions about the future of its schools, with rural communities across the county facing the threat of closures as the council presses ahead with its wider modernisation programme.
Cllr James has form for holding the council to account on infrastructure and investment. He has previously challenged transport plans he said left west Wales communities behind, and the Ammanford area has featured in broader debates about investment in the region’s towns and transport links.
Cllr James said the issue was ultimately one of transparency and accountability.
“After more than a decade of discussion, the community deserves clear answers,” he said.
Carmarthenshire County Council has been contacted for comment.
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