Senedd election forces Catholic super-school and Saltney consultations to restart
Flintshire County Council has confirmed that consultation on its Catholic super-school proposal and a separate plan to close Saltney Ferry Primary School must restart after Senedd election rules and a legal challenge made it impossible to meet the statutory timetable.
Claire Homard, the council’s Chief Officer for Education and Youth, confirmed today that both the Catholic Diocese super-school proposal and the separate plan to merge two Saltney primary schools will require fresh consultation processes, with Cabinet approval to restart expected in May.
The formal pre-election period began at 9am this morning, 25 March, ahead of the Senedd election on 7 May.
During this period, public bodies are required to delay items that may be considered controversial.
The School Organisation Code sets a fixed timescale within which school reorganisation proposals must be concluded once public consultation has started.
With the pre-election period making it impossible to proceed, that deadline cannot now be met for either proposal, meaning both consultations must restart.
The council’s Cabinet had been due to consider the outcome of statutory objections to both proposals but deferred that decision on 10 March after receiving a late legal challenge related to the Catholic super-school plans.
Governors at St David’s Catholic Primary School in Mold had issued a legal letter from law firm Addleshaw Goddard raising concerns about the consultation process.
The council took its own legal advice and is still reviewing the feedback from its barrister.
Ms Homard said: “We appreciate that all of the school communities impacted by these proposals need clarity about what is happening and acknowledge the frustration that these delays will be causing, but the Council needs to ensure that appropriate processes are followed and that legal advice has been fully considered.
“I can confirm that we will be seeking Cabinet approval to restart the consultation on both proposals in May, as soon as it is practicably possible after the election.
“I can also confirm that we will reflect on the result of the first consultation in relation to both proposals to improve how we communicate on issues of concern to the school communities, parents and carers.”
The Catholic Diocese proposal involves closing St David’s Catholic Primary School in Mold, St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School in Saltney, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Flint, and St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School in Flint.
All four would be replaced by a new 3-18 school on the St Richard Gwyn site at a projected cost of £55.5 million, with the Welsh Government funding 85% and Flintshire County Council meeting 15% through borrowing.
The Saltney proposal involves closing Saltney Ferry Primary School and merging it with Saltney Wood Memorial Primary School on the Saltney Wood site, at a cost of £12.5 million.
More than 4,000 people objected to the Catholic super-school plans during the first consultation and more than 3,000 objected to the Saltney Ferry closure.
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