A CHILDCARE facility at a Cwmbran primary school will be expanded after Torfaen council’s planning committee gave plans the green light.

The new building – at Llantarnam Community Primary School, in Llantarnam Road – would provide childcare facilities for the local community.

It will be situated to the west of the existing main school building, which is reached via James Prosser Way.

In the meeting there were some concerns raised over the removal of trees and the size of the childcare facility.

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Cllr Veronica Crick said: “Given the growth in housing around Llantarnam I was wondering whether the facility for 18 children is actually large enough.”

However, the committee was told that this was not a planning issue and could not be a deciding factor.

Ward member Cllr David Thomas said he fully supported the application and it is a “much-needed facility”.

A planning report on the proposal states that the facility “will be operated by a local childcare provider who currently occupy a classroom in the main school”.

“They provide a childcare service for the local community and wraparound care for the school nursery.

The opening hours of the school’s childcare facility is currently 9am-3pm on weekdays.

Llantarnam Community Primary School was built on the former site of Llantarnam Comprehensive School, under the provisions, and with funding from, the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools programme.

The school opened in November 2016,

It takes in children from three to 11 years of age, and has a current capacity for 315 pupils.