Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Gill German, Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Education, Children and Families (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet’s review of the Objection Report and whether or not to approve the proposal set out in the Statutory Notice to increase the capacity of Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn from 116 to 220.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       reviewed the Objection Report attached as Appendix 2 to the report;

(b)       confirmed it was satisfied that the statutory process as set out in the School Organisation Code had been followed;

(c)        approves the proposal as set out in the Statutory Notice with regard to increasing the capacity of Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn from 116 to 220, and

(d)       confirmed it had read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, as part of its consideration, noting that the site location for redevelopment had not been agreed or committed to by Cabinet or Council.

Councillor Gill German presented the report seeking Cabinet’s consideration of the objections received in response to the Statutory Notice published by the Council on the proposal to increase Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn’s capacity from 116 to 220, and to consider whether or not to approve the proposal and move forward with the project.

The project was part of Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme (Band B) approved in September 2020.  The school delivered specialist provision for pupils with autism aged 3 – 19 on three separate sites and would move to a brand new purpose built facility to accommodate the increase in capacity and meet the needs of children on the autism spectrum.  Given the specialist provision, Welsh Government would fund 75% of the build and Denbighshire 25%.

The Head of Education Services added that the review of the Objection Report was part of the legal process required before determination of the Statutory Notice.  The report detailed two objections received which had focused on the location of the new build rather than the increase in capacity together with the Council’s response to those concerns.  The school was currently oversubscribed and there was a predicted increased demand going forward.  The proposal to increase capacity would be subject to a site being agreed, planning consent approved, funding being available and the new build being ready to accommodate the increased capacity.

The Leader reiterated that the report referred to an increase in the school’s capacity and not the location of any new build which had been the focus of the objections.

Councillor Rhys Thomas raised concerns regarding recommendation 3.4 as it referred to the Wellbeing Impact Assessment (WIA) which referenced a specific site for the new build which had yet to be decided; sought clarity around the recommendation in the Objection Report in so far as it related to capacity only, and the separate process for site selection; and highlighted confusion over the two processes given that no objections had been received regarding the increase in capacity but had focused on the site of the new build.

The Head of Education Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer responded to the points raised, and other follow up questions, as follows –

·       the WIA had been based on the preferred site at the time and there was no presumption it would be the site for the new build which had yet to be agreed; the feasibility of another site was also under consideration and any site identified would be subject to the appropriate processes.  If a different site was identified the WIA would need to be reviewed, and if a site outside Denbigh was proposed the whole process would need to recommence

·       Cabinet was required to take the WIA into account as part of its consideration, but did not need to agree with all points; the WIA may not have focused sufficiently on impacts of increasing capacity and there were elements focused on location.  Consequently, Councillor Rhys Thomas proposed an amendment to recommendation 3.4, seconded by Councillor Gwyneth Ellis, to clarify that the actual site had not been agreed or committed to by the Cabinet or Council

·       the recommendation in the Objection Report referred to the proposal ‘To alter Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn in Denbigh so that the capacity is increased from 116 to 220’ and recommended the proposal be endorsed and permission given as part of Cabinet’s final determination to progress to implementation stage, i.e. to issue the notice which was subject to the other processes: a site being agreed, planning consent approved, availability of funding and new build being ready.  Two processes were running concurrently: (1) to alter the school’s size and capacity, and (2) agreeing a site for the new build and securing the necessary permissions and funding.  The process for identifying a site would be subject to a number steps, including discussion by the Modernising Education Board and Denbigh Member Area Group (MAG) as part of that process

·       officers thought they had been clear in all reports that there were two separate processes but agreed there had been some confusion given the objections focused on location rather than capacity.  Lessons would be learned from the process going forward. The Leader suggested that objectors to the location may have just taken the opportunity to raise those objections as part of that process which they were entitled to do.  Councillor Gill German advised that there had been some consideration about whether to include objections based on location, but on balance it was felt important that those views be heard, despite not being relevant to the proposal in the Statutory Notice to increase capacity.

Officers also responded to further questions from members as follows –

·       with regard to timescales the proposal was part of Band B which ran between 2019 and 2024.  However, the Welsh Government had recently acknowledged that many local authorities were in the position where some of those projects may need to extend beyond 2024 and had recently published guidance about how the programme would continue, effectively providing a mechanism for local authorities who would not be able to commit their resources during the initial timeframe and for those projects to be part of a rolling programme going forward

·       agreed that, whilst consultation had taken place with Denbigh MAG given the school’s location, the school provided education for children across the county and information on the project could be shared with all MAGs going forward

·       the school’s capacity was 116 and was already oversubscribed with 136 pupils on roll and 72 young people waiting for a health assessment; much work had been undertaken to ensure the right size of the school to meet the need going forward.  In 2016 47% of pupils resided out of county; as of January 2022 16% of pupils resided out of county, showing an increase in Denbighshire pupils.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer reminded Cabinet of the requirements of the School Organisation Code when determining the proposal in a fair minded way which included a number of statutory considerations.  Councillor Gill German felt it had been useful to make clear that the proposal related only to the increase in capacity at the school and thanked members for their consideration and contribution to the debate.  Cabinet had recognised the demand for specialist provision which continued to increase, with the school currently oversubscribed, and the merits of the proposal to increase the capacity to meet the needs of children going forward.  If Cabinet was minded to approve the proposal in the Statutory Notice and accept the recommendations, the project could progress to the next stage in the process.

Upon being put to the vote it was –

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)      reviewed the Objection Report attached as Appendix 2 to the report;

(b)      confirmed it was satisfied that the statutory process as set out in the School Organisation Code had been followed;

(c)      approves the proposal as set out in the Statutory Notice with regard to increasing the capacity of Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn from 116 to 220, and

(d)      confirmed it had read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, as part of its consideration, noting that the site location for redevelopment had not been agreed or committed to by Cabinet or Council.