“THEY bought land in Pontamman to build a school, yet haven’t. I don’t see funding for schools, but the council are going to build a new leisure centre." That's the view of a councillor who is furious a new school is not being built.

Shadow Cabinet Member Kevin Madge has questioned why Carmarthenshire County Council have failed to build a proposed new school in Pontamman.

A few years ago, the county council bought land in the town to construct a new educational facility.

However, reports over the development have gone quiet with no construction taking place.

Cllr Madge said: “They bought land in Pontamman a few years ago to build a new school yet haven’t. For whatever reason it has not been delivered by the council.

“I don’t see funding for schools in the capital programme. But, at the same time, the council can’t say they have no capital and then reveal they are going to build a new leisure centre.

“When I was leader of the council, when we promised something, we delivered it. I’m not going to stay quiet about injustices. I was fair to the whole of the county. I want to see fair play and fair investment among the various towns in Carmarthenshire.

“Regardless, I hope more funding does become available to build new schools in the area.”

The county council were approached for comment following Cllr Madge’s comments and revealed there are several reasons why a new school has not been built.

Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language, Cllr Glynog Davies said: “The Ammanford Primary investment project has faced several challenges, including the increasing scale and complexity due to rising pupil numbers, the availability of suitable land, and the need to align with wider regeneration objectives for the town.

“Not to mention the ever-increasing budget pressures, facing all local authorities, which means that there is not enough money to build all the new schools that we need.

“The demand for Welsh primary education in the town has significantly contributed to the growth, necessitating schools that can accommodate over 1,000 mainstream and ALN pupils, prompting careful consideration of options that best support Ammanford's community and regeneration.”

The proposed school was meant to be built on the land acquired off Pontamman Road.

When the plan was first introduced, developing schools in Ammanford was seen as a priority by the council.

Former opposition leader, Cllr Rob James has previously claimed that Labour administration had allocated money for new schools in town, but the incoming Plaid administration pushed the project back in 2016.

However, Cllr Davies expressed how this decision came before he joined the executive board in 2017.