Welsh Government Minister for Finance and Leader of the House Jane Hutt AM made a special visit to Abercynon this week to see the first-class plans being delivered by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council for a new Community Primary School.
The £11.5million scheme, which received Welsh Government approval, will see the new Community Primary School, made up of Abercynon Infants, Carnetown Primary and Abertaf Primary Schools coming together in one building.
The project is part of a £160million investment programme in education throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf – the largest sum ever spent in the County Borough to build new schools and improve existing facilities.
The Minister is encouraging all public bodies to follow best practice in procurement to create opportunities for local communities.
During the visit to the project, which has received £8m from the Welsh Government the Minister saw how Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Willmott Dixon, the contractor working on the project, have worked together to develop a Community Benefits Strategy for the local area.
Jane Hutt said: “Millions of pounds of public money is spent on construction projects such as new schools, hospital upgrades and transport projects across Wales every year. It is vital that when this money is spent, we do everything to maximise the benefits for our local communities.
“By including community benefits in the procurement process public bodies can help to create new job opportunities and apprenticeships for local people as well as providing supply chain opportunities for local businesses.
“By applying the community benefits approach to the Abercynon Infants School project, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Willmott Dixon plan to create job and apprentice opportunities for local people, as well as ensuring that 75% of all subcontracts will be awarded to local suppliers.
“The community benefits approach has now been used on over £3bn worth of projects across Wales. This has helped to sustain and create hundreds of local job opportunities and other community schemes.
“I hope that all public bodies will see the opportunities the community benefits approach has brought to Abercynon and will apply it more widely through their own procurement procedures.”
Determined to deliver an innovative Community Primary School that appeals to all, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has taken on board public opinion and worked with its architects to change the appearance of the new building. The new plans were on show and a presentation was given to the Minister.
Jane Hutt met with the Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Cllr Eudine Hanagan and Cabinet Member for Performance, Human Resources and Housing Cllr Clayton Willis with the project team and contractors at the site.
Cllr Eudine Hanagan, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, said: “We are investing in a bright, modern and inspiring new school for the benefit of pupils and the community alike.
“It is no mean feat to be able to secure the £11.5m needed for this important new scheme and the Council is proud of this achievement and also its commitment to delivering a new school that is at the heart of the community.
“We are very excited about this scheme and the opportunities it will bring and the Minister was clearly impressed by the delivery of it for the benefit of the community as a whole”.
Abercynon Community Primary School, as with all other new schools delivered by the Council in recent years, will be built to the highest-possible standards, with excellent designs and material and the highest consideration to sustainability and environmentally-friendly measures.
As well as offering an attractive building, the new Primary also includes a new continuing education centre, library and multi-use games area for the benefit of the wider community.
