Work to expand Ysgol y Deri in Penarth won’t be completed until next year after being affected by delays.
Vale of Glamorgan Council has confirmed that the new expected opening date for Ysgol Llyn Derw in Cosmeston is now May 2026.
It was reported in August 2024 that the expected completion date for the new special needs school, which will be the second site to Ysgol y Deri, was summer 2025.
Council cabinet members approved plans to expand Ysgol y Deri with a new site in April 2021.
The head teacher of the special needs school, which featured in the BAFTA-nominated BBC series 'A Special School', argued in the past that more space was desperately needed there.
Headteacher Chris Britten told a council planning meeting in April 2023 there wasn’t enough dining space at lunchtime and some pupils were refusing food and drink out of fear of soiling themselves due to a lack of hygiene rooms.
The £22m new build will provide space for an additional 150 pupils with additional learning needs.
When asked about the collapse of the ISG group, council leader Lis Burnett told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "We know a lot of the people in ISG and we are really sad that they have all lost their jobs."
"This happens, but what we will say…is two of our housing developments were ones that failed under previous developers and we took them on and not only have we delivered them but we brought them back on time by developing."
"By the time we knew that ISG were going through, we already were having conversations with other people. Having worked with the new developers previously, I can’t foresee any issues."
"With any of our developers we always have a close working relationship and that is in some ways why we have achieved as much as we have in terms of our community benefit schemes."
“It is a shame with Cosmeston but I am confident that we will manage to avoid too much of a delay.”
As well as creating more space for pupils, the Ysgol Llyn Derw development promises to integrate with the surrounding landscape and operate as a more eco-friendly site.
Outdoor spaces will offer both teaching and study spaces as well as areas for sport, play, and socialising.
The design of the two-storey building incorporates solar panels and a hybrid generator to power the site.
It will also include green roofs and a number of other features aimed at enhancing biodiversity.
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