CONCERNS have been raised about the survival of a popular community centre if plans for a new primary school in Six Bells go ahead.

Ty Ebbw Fach acts as a hub for the area and to the visitors of the Guardian Six Bells Mining Memorial opposite, yet its viability if the planned primary school is built on the ‘lower plateau’ of the former pit site has been called into question.

Hywel Clatworthy, of the Six Bells Regeneration, said: “We are in no way opposed to improving the already excellent primary education provisions we have in Six Bells, but we believe this can be done without putting our community enterprise into serious jeopardy.”

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s publications state that they are ‘continuing to involve the local community in the planning and design stages of the new school building through a construction implementation group’.

Although the Six Bells Regeneration have always expressed a preference for the school to be sited elsewhere, they have been engaged with the Council’s Education department at every opportunity during the consultation process, and two dedicated volunteer directors attended meetings of the ‘construction implementation group’ to ensure the best possible outcome for Ty Ebbw Fach.

Under the proposals, the car park will be used first by the schools staff, with the community only being able to use any leftover spaces. The group believe this runs counter to the planning consent terms for the community enterprise, stipulating adequate parking provision.

The council’s traffic flow statistics suggest the car park won’t provide enough spaces for school staff alone, let alone community members visiting the Guardian, the visitor centre or the Ty Ebbw Fach café centre, all provided with major investment and opened by Prince Charles in November 2011.

A Six Bells Regeneration spokesman said: “Without adequate parking, visitors will be impeded or unable to visit the Guardian, take refreshments locally or make use of the conference suite and office space.

“This will have a drastic impact on our revenue and make it impossible to sustain the company as a viable enterprise. It would be a disastrous legacy for the proposed school if sufficient facilities were taken away resulting in Ty Ebbw Fach’s closure.”