Council leader says Saltney Ferry school plans prove it’s not a ‘forgotten town’
The leader of Flintshire Council says plans to close a primary school in Saltney Ferry as part of a merger plan prove that Saltney is not a forgotten town.
Cllr Dave Hughes made the statement as Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet agreed to re-launch plans to close Saltney Ferry Community Primary School and merge it with Saltney Wood Memorial Primary School.
The plan would see the authority invest £12.5 million of grant funding from the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Fund in creating a new school on the Saltney Wood site off Boundary Lane.
If approved Flintshire County Council would borrow £4.375m to fund 35% of that cost, with the rest coming from the Welsh Government funding.
“We all hear about Saltney, the forgotten town if you like. This would certainly be a big boost to Saltney, the fact that we’ve invested in the schools,” said Cllr Hughes.
“That certainly puts the the spotlight on it that they’re not the forgotten town at all.”
According to parents opposed to the plans it would also force primary-age pupils from Saltney Ferry to walk almost three miles a day along a busy high street with narrow pavements – a route they insist is unsafe.
As with Flintshire Council’s plans to close St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School under its super-school proposal, the Saltney Ferry scheme was postponed due to legal question marks over the consultation process which delayed approval.
Now the consultation has been relaunched with the plans unchanged.
“This proposal has been developed by the council to address a significant number of challenges being faced by the Saltney primary sector in Flintshire and to ensure a sustainable and high quality primary education offer for the future,” said Cabinet member for Education, Welsh Language, Culture and Leisure Cllr Mared Eastwood.
“It will also provide a full curriculum offer for children from age 3-11, advancing Welsh education in a way that reflects and supports the unique context of Saltney.
“Achieving this ambitious vision will require significant organisational change to the current Saltney school estate but will deliver a long-term sustainable model in a state-of-the-art net zero carbon in operation building which will more effectively support learners to achieve their potential.”
She was supported by Chief Officer for Education Claire Homard who said: “It is clearly evident that primary schools in Saltney are subject to significant reductions in pupil numbers.
“This draws funding away from front line delivery for pupils and creates operational management challenges within the schools.
“The combined surplus across the two schools in Saltney is 189 empty places. That is the size of a medium-sized primary school and those empty spaces are sucking up money that actually could be better invested in supporting the quality of education by building a new school.
“Both schools are in need of modernisation. They’re considerably old buildings now in terms of suitability and condition and they are in in need of investment.”
Ms Homard praised the performance of the two schools – but stated that reinforced the need for these proposals.
“Both are well-performing schools and again the opportunity to bring the expertise of the two staff teams together to create again that seamless curriculum offer, that consistent approach to learners in terms of well-being.
“We recognise that both schools are really important parts of their local communities within Saltney and we know parents and pupils have expressed some concern about the changes.
“We’re having to sit back and take that strategic view as a council in terms of what we believe would be the best option to really deliver a fantastic new facility that will have resources that both schools currently do not, which will support their pupils, support their staff and hopefully deliver a really high quality education for the learners in Saltney.”
Councillor Richard Jones criticised opposition to the plans during the previous consultation.
“There’s there’s been a lot of divisive comments made in the last consultation which are really unhelpful,” he said.
“When you look at that the data, 189 empty spaces is just not sustainable and and we have to be conscious of that and that’s where we have to think about our strategy for the future, isn’t it?
“What this would replace are two schools in need of renovation, in need of investment. It’s really the best option that we can do and it’s the best option for Saltney too.”
Councillors agreed as they unanimously approved the restart of the consultation, which will through the summer term, with a decision made in Spring 2027.
The parents of Saltney Ferry pupils opposed to the plans were disappointed with the decision.
They argue their part of Saltney has been stripped of all its community assets, leading to their claim of being a ‘forgotten town’.
They also strongly believe the route to school from Saltney Ferry to Boundary Lane – along High Street – is not safe for small children and families to walk. They even set out to prove it by walking the route last month to show the risks facing pupils on the journey.
“Many parents and residents within Saltney Ferry remain concerned that the wider impact on families and the community is still not being fully recognised,” said David Whittaker a parent and spokesperson for Save Saltney Ferry Primary School.
“While we acknowledge the council’s desire to invest in modern educational facilities, our campaign has always been about more than buildings. We continue to believe there are serious unanswered questions around accessibility, special educational needs provision, transport, community identity and the cumulative impact these proposals could have on local families.
“Hearing the leader directly reference the view held by many residents that Saltney Ferry has become a ‘forgotten community’ demonstrates that the concerns being raised locally are now firmly part of the wider public conversation.
“We are disappointed many of the detailed concerns raised by parents, carers and residents were not explored more fully, particularly regarding vulnerable children and the long-term social impact on the community.
However, the consultation process will now reopen and we encourage all residents to engage respectfully, constructively and ensure their voices are properly heard moving forward.”
By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter
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