Dear Residents,
We have significant news regarding the old school site in our village. As many of you know, after the closure of our village school in 2015, Powys County Council initially rejected our 'Expression of Interest' and sold the site to Housing for £150,000. Despite our protests and a petition signed by 235 residents, Housing announced plans to develop the site.
Our village has already seen a 30% increase in housing stock, and the school grounds were our only community greenspace, accessible to residents since 1965. We highlighted that the site was originally sold to the council at a low price by the Jones family of Llanthomas Farm, just before the deadline for government grants to build new schools expired.
Despite our appeals on moral grounds and the wellbeing of the community, and even though the site was listed as a community asset by Powys, our efforts seemed to fall on deaf ears. However, in a surprising turn of events, Housing decided not to develop the site.
We resubmitted our Expression of Interest, and this time, it was accepted. Powys Council has agreed to transfer the asset to Llanigon Community Council. However, we must repay the £150,000 that Housing paid for it. While we have ethical concerns about this condition, it is the deal on the table.
We want to discuss with you the options available to us, such as crowd funding, community donations and a government loan which would be repaid via the Llanigon Community Council Precept.
If no action is taken the site will be lost to the community within 6- 12 months.
Please join us in the Village Hall on Thursday 28th of November at 7pm. Enjoy a glass of mulled wine, a mince pie, and share your ideas and have your say on the old school site.
Should you wish to donate to the project, we can accept payment via the following methods
BAC’S – Llanigon Community Council Acc no.- 52583961 Sort Code - 53-50-31
GoFundMe – The Llanigon Rainbow Project, Save Our Greenspace
We look forward to seeing you there, however if you are unable to make it but wish to share your thoughts on the project, please email us on Llanigonrainbow@gmail.com
Best regards,
Llanigon Community Council