TALKS on tackling empty spaces in schools serving two towns are to be held following claims over the future of a primary.

The consultation with schools and the wider community will also consider the future of secondary education in Chepstow – the only town in Monmouthshire with a comprehensive that hasn’t benefited from a new building.

Councillors were asked to back a motion calling on the county council’s Labour and Green Party cabinet to set out its plans for addressing surplus places in the Monmouth and Chepstow school clusters.

In July director of education Will McLean said both areas have “significant numbers of surplus places” of about 200 primary age pupils each.

The cabinet member for education, Labour’s Laura Wright, later that month stated the council had no plans to close any schools following claims it intended closing Kymin View Primary School, in Wyesham, Monmouth and moving the town’s Welsh medium Ysgol Gymraeg Trefynwy into the site.

There were heated exchanges at the council’s September meeting between Labour councillors and the opposition Conservatives over whether the closure plan had been produced.

Both Labour and Conservative members demanded apologies over the claims and counter claims.

Labour leader Mary Ann Brocklesby said a proposal to move Ysgol Trefynwy to the Kymin View site had been put forward at a behind closed doors, and confidential, council seminar but denied that amounted to a “plan”.

She said: “A seminar is a place where proposals can be put forward for understanding and developing. It is not a place for decision-making.”

Conservative opposition leader Richard John, who brought the motion, said action on empty classroom spaces is needed with Welsh Government guidance stating reviews should be held when a school has more than 25 per cent surplus places.

Cllr John, who represents Mitchell Troy and Trellech, said the Monmouth cluster is on course for 432 surplus places with two primaries having 38 per cent of their seats empty and another at 33 per cent while three schools have 20 per cent surplus places.

In Chepstow, he said two primaries have “significant” surplus places and there were around 250 surplus places in the cluster.

He also said the current Labour-led cabinet had failed to bring forward plans for a replacement for Chepstow Comprehensive, though acknowledged “complexities” including the site is shared with a leisure centre.

Cllr John said the previous Conservative council adminstration had worked on a rolling basis as it replaced secondary schools in Caldicot, Monmouth and Abergavenny.

Deputy leader, and Chepstow Castle and Larkfied councillor Paul Griffiths, said residents continually ask when Chepstow will receive a new building and said the council has “not been sitting on it” and has held talks with councillors.

But he said: “A like for like replacement is unlikely to happen”.

He proposed the motion, put forward by Cllr John, that called for the cabinet to “set out its plans to tackle surplus places in the Monmouth and Chepstow clusters” should be amended to add “having first fully engaged with schools and the local community in developing such plans.”

The amendment was accepted and the motion passed by the council with one abstention.

During the debate Chepstow Bulwark and Thornwell member Armand Watts said the council should aim to attract people to move to Monmouthshire based on the quality of its education.

The Labour councillor said: “We can never compete with Bristol, although we are slightly cheaper, what we can do is on education. I believe we can break through there.”

Labour’s Tudor Thomas, who is the chair of governors at Ysgol Trefynwy which currently has two classrooms at Overmonnow Primary, will need to expand in the coming years and which the council will need to plan for.

He said: “Please do not use Welsh medium as the whipping boy for surplus places.”