Safety concerns deepen as Cabinet prepares to discuss full roof replacement

SIGNIFICANT new detail has emerged about the structural issues affecting Tenby VC School, with a Pembrokeshire County Council feasibility study confirming that the building’s roof system has deteriorated to the point where only a full replacement will make the site safe.

Built in 2016, the school has suffered ongoing water ingress and damage to its Structural Insulated Panels. The council commissioned a detailed investigation earlier this year, which has now concluded that “Design Option 5” – a complete roof replacement – is the only viable long-term solution. Cabinet is due to consider the findings at its meeting on Monday (Nov 3).

Urgent health and safety measures remain in place at the site, including the installation of 510 acro props across affected sections of the building and the closure of the Early Years and playgroup wing. The council has confirmed that a full decant of pupils and staff will be required while construction takes place, with options for temporary accommodation currently being reviewed.

Routine monitoring is continuing on a half-termly basis, alongside monthly checks of the acro props. A further report setting out a full decant strategy is expected to come before Cabinet no later than January 2026.

Cllr Guy Woodham, Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language, said the safety of pupils and staff remained the council’s priority. He added: “The findings of the feasibility study are clear. Only a full roof replacement will provide the secure and modern learning environment our children deserve. We are committed to working closely with the school community to minimise disruption and ensure continuity of education throughout the process.”

Further updates on the council’s decision and the decant arrangements will follow as more information becomes available.

CYMDEITHAS YR IAITH has launched preparations to oppose Carmarthenshire County Council’s plans to close three rural Welsh-medium schools, following a contentious decision by the Cabinet on Monday (Nov 17).

The Cabinet agreed to publish a statutory notice to close Ysgol Llansteffan at the end of the 2025–26 academic year, while also approving a statutory consultation on proposals to close Ysgol Meidrim and Ysgol Y Fro, Llangyndeyrn. The move forms part of the council’s long-running Modernising Education Programme, under which a number of small rural schools have already faced review because of falling pupil numbers, surplus places and ongoing budget pressures.

Campaigners say the latest proposals could have serious consequences for rural communities, the sustainability of Welsh-medium education and the Welsh Government’s national Cymraeg 2050 language growth strategy. All three schools serve areas with strong Welsh-speaking populations, and parents have repeatedly argued that closures will force young children to travel further and weaken the cultural and social fabric of their villages.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith has criticised the process followed by the council, highlighting comments made during Monday’s Cabinet meeting that the required Stage 0 discussions with the schools “did not happen properly”. Stage 0 is the statutory preliminary engagement that must be completed before councillors consider formal closure proposals.

Speaking on behalf of Cymdeithas yr Iaith in Carmarthenshire, campaigner Ffred Ffransis said the Cabinet should not have proceeded.

He said: “The cabinet should not have voted for a consultation after admitting that the initial statutory stage of discussion with the schools, known as stage 0, did not happen properly. The council officers’ reports say clearly that a consultation or a statutory notification to close should not be authorised unless councillors were sure that it was the best option.

“The preparation work to ensure responses to the consultations and objections to the statutory notice to close, together with the three schools, will start straight away.”

Cymdeithas yr Iaith is now expected to coordinate its response with parents, governors and local groups across the county, setting the stage for a significant battle over the future of Welsh-medium schooling in rural Carmarthenshire.

A CALL for Pembrokeshire County Council to join other west Wales authorities in calling for its pension funds to be divested from companies profiting from genocide has been submitted.

Last month, a call for Ceredigion County Council to stress it does not wish to be involved in companies connected with Israel during the ongoing Gaza crisis through its pension fund was backed by councillors.

A notice of motion before Ceredigion County Council’s meeting of October 23, proposed by Cllr Endaf Edwards, said: “The ongoing and deeply concerning conflict in Gaza has led to significant loss of innocent life and widespread humanitarian suffering.

“Despite a temporary ceasefire in January 2025, hostilities have resumed, and conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate.”

It added: “The Dyfed Pension Fund has confirmed that approximately £1.5 million – around 0.04 per cent of its total assets – is directly invested in companies based in Israel.

“This council believes: Public sector pension fund investments in Ceredigion and across Wales should not support war crimes, human rights violations, or breaches of international law, regardless of financial returns.

“While the Dyfed Pension Fund Committee operates independently of Ceredigion County Council’s political structures, council has the right to express its views on matters of ethical concern.”

It asked five points: a commitment to ethical governance and global justice; to express it does not wish to be associated with companies potentially complicit in war crimes or human rights violations; to write to the Welsh Pension Partnership, conveying these concerns and requesting a review of current investments; to request that the Dyfed Pension Fund and Welsh Pension Partnership strengthen their ethical investment policies; and to call on the Dyfed Pension Fund Committee and Welsh Pension Partnership to regularly review and publicly report on progress toward divestment from unethical holdings.

A petition has now been submitted on Pembrokeshire County Council’s own website, making a similar call.

The Pembrokeshire petition, started by Sarah Davies of Solidarity with Palestine Pembrokeshire, reads: “We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to pass a resolution calling on Dyfed Pension Fund to divest our pension money from companies profiting from genocide.

“As residents of Pembrokeshire, we are deeply concerned that the Dyfed Pension Fund (DPF) invests millions of pension fund money in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, occupation, and apartheid against Palestinians. In addition, DPF uses the multinational asset management firm BlackRock to manage 40 per cent (£1.4 billion) of its total assets. BlackRock has been cited in a recent UN report as profiting from genocide.
“Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and other Welsh councils have already committed to divestment. We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to use its influence to urge Dyfed Pension Fund to divest from these companies.”

The e-Petition runs up to December 28.