PLANS to demolish a former special school in Ebbw Vale have been lodged with Blaenau Gwent council.

On July 30 Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council received an application from itself to demolish the former site of Pen-y-Cwm special school and demountable classrooms at Beaufort Hill in Ebbw Vale.

If demolition goes ahead, it is hoped the council can access funding in the future so that the site could be developed for school and wider community use.

Pen-y-Cwm was established in 1976 and was based on the same site as Beaufort Hill primary school.

In November 2012, the school moved and was co-located along with Ebbw Fawr Learning Community Primary phase and the Integrated Children’s Centre at a purpose built facility based on the former works site in Ebbw Vale.

The school teaches children with special educational needs, including severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties, or autistic spectrum disorders, between the ages of three to 19.

A council spokeswoman said: “We have applied for a pre-demolition notice and subject to this being approved demolition could start on site at the end of August.”

A decision on the application is expected to be made by August 26.

In 2021 the council agreed that an extra 55 children could be taught at Pen-y-Cwm taking its capacity up to 175.

Earlier this year it was revealed that an outline business case would be submitted to the Welsh Government to fund an extension to the special school.

This would be further increase the capacity and sensory area at the school.

The scheme for Pen-y-Cwm would be lodged with the Welsh Government’s former 21st Century Schools Programme, which is now known as the “Sustainable Communities for Learning” programme, after proposals for a £5million secondary phase extension for Ebbw Fawr 3-16 learning community and a £4 million extension to Tredegar Comprehensive school have been sent to the Welsh Government from Blaenau Gwent.

At a council committee meeting in January, Labour’s Cllr Jen Morgan who is also chairwoman of the school governors called for Pen-y-Cwm to be given “priority.”

Cllr Morgan was concerned that Pen y Cwm is “bursting at the seams” and that children who should be taught there were in mainstream schools and “putting pressure” on staff there.