The chair of a local Labour group has resigned and left the party over plans to close three primary schools. 

Leon Vincent, former chair of Pontardawe Labour ward, resigned from his position in disagreement with Neath Port Talbot (NPT) Council’s plans to replace three local primary schools with a ‘super school’.

Mr Vincent said the council’s consultation process regarding the school closures was a “sham” and reports by council officers were “misleading”.

The Labour-led council is proposing to replace Alltwen, Godre’rgraig and Llangiwg primary schools with an English medium school for pupils aged three to 11.

If approved, the new school could be built in Pontardawe by 2024, with space for 750 pupils and a swimming pool. 

Mr Vincent, who was chair of the Pontardawe Labour ward for around two years, believes the figures included in council documents on the expected number of pupils that would attend the new school are “manipulated”. 

He suspects the council wants to close four primary schools instead of three because early reports by officers suggested four schools would be closed to create a new school for 750 pupils.

The latest reports state three schools will close, leading to a school with capacity for 770 pupils, which Mr Vincent said is “misleading”.

“A fair consultation should give its reader true facts and figures to allow a fair decision.

“The whole report is written in a way that makes the current schools appeal as unappealing as possible.”

NPT Council is proposing to build the new facilities on council-owned land at Parc Ynysderw, Pontardawe next to Cwmtae Community School and Pontardawe Leisure Centre.

South Wales Guardian: Cwmtawe Community School [Google Maps, available for LDRS]Cwmtawe Community School [Google Maps, available for LDRS]

If the development is approved, the new school would open in September 2024 for 630 full-time pupils and 140 part-time nursery pupils. The existing three primary schools would close in August 2024.

Mr Vincent questioned why NPT Council predicted 587 pupils would attend the proposed new school when 402 full-time pupils are expected to attend the three existing schools by 2024.

He said the council told him the predictions are based on the assumption that pupils from schools outside Pontardawe would enrol at the new one. 

“The council cannot genuinely believe this and I am left thinking that they are not being honest about their true intentions,” he said.  

“They won’t have more than 400 children through those school closures because they’re going to lose probably half of the children currently at Godre’rgraig. 

“They’ll probably go to Powys because the new school is going to be on the other side of Pontardawe.”

South Wales Guardian: Alltwen Primary School, Pontardawe [Google Maps, available for LDRS]Alltwen Primary School, Pontardawe [Google Maps, available for LDRS]

He added: “I can no longer knock my neighbours doors and encourage them to support this Labour council and so I have resigned as chair and left the party. 

“I have lost complete faith in the Labour council’s ability to be clear and honest.

“I hope that there are enough good, honest Labour councillors in Neath Port Talbot to reject this consultation and seek a more honest and transparent path. 

“The route of this current leader and his cabinet is sadly a misleading one. 

“Failure to block this consultation will not only give the green light to other school closures and amalgamations but to further misleading consultations.” 

In November, while the consultation was underway, parents in Pontardawe publicly expressed their opposition to the school closures, arguing that the new school would lack the community feel of the current schools and would be too far away.

The consultation has now closed and council officers will report back to the council’s cabinet on the matter in due course.

A spokesman for Neath Port Talbot Council said: “All responses will be considered and we hope that Mr Vincent has responded accordingly within the consultation. 

“There are no plans under the 21st Centenary schools Band B programme to undertake any consultations over further school closures within the Band B programme that has been clearly publicised some time ago.

“Matters relating to Mr Vincent’s political comments are not for the council to comment on.”

In 2019, Godre’graig Primary School was temporarily relocated from Godre’rgraig  after experts found there was a risk of a potential landslide at the school’s playground.

A report by the council’s director of education Andrew Thomas stated further work revealed it would be unsafe for pupils and staff to return to the old site and so building a new school could benefit pupils and staff.

The new school and pool buildings would cost around £22 million and be funded by the Welsh Government and borrowing. 

There is currently a total backlog in maintenance costs of over £2m for all three primary schools and a total of £1.2m for Pontardawe Swimming Pool.