Plaid and Conservative MSs say Flintshire is ignoring residents on Catholic super-school
Flintshire County Council has voted to restart its consultation on closing four Catholic schools and replacing them with a single 3-18 school, despite 96% of respondents opposing the original plans.
The proposals would close St David’s in Mold, St Anthony’s in Saltney, St Mary’s in Flint and St Richard Gwyn High School in Flint, with a new school built on the St Richard Gwyn site.
Cabinet voted unanimously to relaunch the proposal.
The council’s own committee papers put the published total cost of the project at £77.862 million.
That includes the £55 million capital build cost, of which £46.75 million would come from the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning fund and £8.25 million from council borrowing.
The total also includes £22.65 million in projected borrowing costs over 50 years, and £212,000 in transport costs for the first year alone.
Plaid Cymru’s Carrie Harper said the project was “estimated to cost nearly £80 million”. The council’s published total covers only one year of transport, with ongoing transport across the 50-year borrowing period adding to the lifetime total.
The figures appear in section 1.22 of a report to the council’s Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 9 March 2026.
Conservative MS Sam Rowlands, who represents Fflint Wrecsam, has been running a petition against the plans.
He said: “I cannot believe that despite the huge numbers who have objected to this proposal some councillors still won’t listen to public opinion. It is astonishing to see councillors, who are supposed to represent their communities, totally ignoring the public’s views on this matter.”
He said St Anthony’s had “been part of the Saltney community for over 150 years and provides education grounded in Christian values”.
Plaid Cymru’s Marc Jones, also MS for Fflint Wrecsam, said:
“It is a huge concern when the voices of thousands of residents are being effectively ignored by the ruling Labour-Independent administration.”
“More than 95% of consultation responses opposed these plans, yet the Cabinet is pushing ahead regardless. It begs the question, what is the point of a consultation process if the outcome appears to have already been decided? It is scandalous.”
Carrie Harper said: “I am deeply alarmed at this proposal. The views of residents have been made abundantly clear through the previous consultation, yet the Council appears determined to plough on.”
She said the new school would be “handed over to a third party once built”, with “Flintshire residents remaining responsible for maintenance costs”.
Catholic schools in Wales are voluntary aided, meaning the diocese typically retains ownership of the building.
In a joint statement, Plaid Cymru’s Clwyd MSs Llyr Gruffydd and Becca Martin said:
“There are serious question marks over this project. Residents have made their views very clear, and the financial case is highly questionable. The interest payments which taxpayers will pay over the lifetime of the project are frankly eye-watering, and the public won’t even keep the asset once it is built.”
Cllr Mared Eastwood, Cabinet Member for Education, Welsh Language, Culture and Leisure, said the proposals were being re-submitted after a legal challenge before the Senedd election meant they had fallen outside the statutory timeframe for a decision.
She said:
“Since the original process was ceased, a new revised School Organisation Code has been published. A new consultation will ensure the process is compliant with the new code and stakeholders have an up-to-date and fair opportunity to comment.”
The council’s chief officer for education, Claire Homard, said the council and the Diocese of Wrexham needed to “develop that high quality and sustainable education offer for learners wishing to access their education through the Catholic faith here in Flintshire”.
The consultation will run through the summer term, with Cabinet expected to make its final decision in Spring 2027.
If approved, St Anthony’s Primary School in Saltney would close first in September 2027, with the other three remaining open until the new school is completed.
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