THE development of Chepstow School is set to be put on hold until at least 2024 due to the scrapping of the Severn tolls, the development of the M4 corridor and the Cardiff ‘City Deal’.

Band A of the 21st Century Schools programme has seen the development of Caldicot School and Raglan Primary School, alongside Monmouth Comprehensive School which is due to open in September 2018.

However during this phase, the council has experienced significant extra costs. According to a report seen by the Beacon, the original budget for Band A should have been £85 million, including £11m for leisure services and £40m for the development of primary schools. Caldicot School and Monmouth Comprehensive Schools have cost £90m alone.

Band B, which will start in April 2019, is now set to include the development of King Henry VIII School in Abergavenny at the total cost of £45.4 million. If approved, the Welsh Government will match Monmouthshire County Council’s (MCC) investment of £22.7 million.

This would mean that the redevelopment of Chepstow School, which was originally scheduled to be in Band B, would take place in Band C, which will not start until 2024.

This, in part, is due to the potential increase in housing demand in the area once the Severn bridge tolls are removed at the start of 2018.

The proposals will be discussed at a meeting of Monmouthshire County Council’s Children and Young People Select Committee tomorrow (Thursday 14th September).

Earlier plans involved Chepstow Comprehensive being placed in the council’s Band B programme and King Henry Comprehensive, Abergavenny in Band C.

However the report states that, due to the deterioration of the building fabric, service infrastructure and main concrete frame at King Henry Comprehensive (as identified in a recent conditions survey and maintenance programme), the priority has changed.

It is proposed in Band B to provide on the King Henry Comprehensive site a 3-19 school which could either be a full English medium offer, freeing up Deri View Primary school for the use of as a Welsh Medium Primary provision or a 3-19 school which provides education in both mediums.

The report states that the preferred option at this stage is to build a 3-19 school for 420 primary school and 1,100 secondary school pupils. The sale of the existing site will help fund the Band B programme.

The report says that, while Chepstow School and King Henry VIII School both require developing, the needs of King Henry VIII are greater due to the condition of the building.

The school is situated in a deprived area of Abergavenny and the school holds the highest level of free school meal entitlement within the county’s secondary schools.

Band C will run from April 2024 to March 2029. In addition to a new secondary school for Chepstow, this could also include the development of the county’s primary school offering in both Welsh and English.