A FINAL decision will be made next week on whether the £11 million rebuild of a Cwmbran primary school will go ahead.

Torfaen County Borough Council’s cabinet will decide next week whether to replace the existing Maendy Primary School in Cwmbran with a new, low carbon and larger capacity school on the existing site by September 2023.

The rebuild is expected to cost £11.49 million. The Welsh Government would fund 65 per cent of the project – £7.45 million. The rest – £4.04 million – would be funded by the council.

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The proposal to rebuild Maendy school has been prompted by an increasing demand from the ongoing South Sebastopol housing development, and a backlog maintenance bill for the current school buildings of £523,105,

The rebuilt school, if approved, would have a capacity of 420 pupils, plus a 30-place nursery, compared to the current 231 places.

If the development goes ahead, the school site would also need a special needs resource base, additional needs assessment centre, Flying Start, and a play group.

The council says that temporary accommodation during the build would be kept to a minimum and the impact on learners is likely to be “restricted to a reduced but manageable external play provision for the duration of the build.”

The council has already run an initial consultation on the proposals earlier this year, which resulted in the issuing of public statutory notices, inviting any objections.

One objection has been received but the council has not said what concerns were raised.

Under the School Organisation Code, Torfaen council is required to consider all objections within 16 weeks of the end of the objection period.

A final decision will be made by cabinet on Tuesday (October 13).