09/01/23

Fairwater Community Campus: Public consultation now open

A public consultation on the development of a pioneering joint education campus for Cardiff, has opened today.

Members of the public are asked to share their views during a pre-application consultation (PAC) on plans for Fairwater Community Campusso that they can be considered before a planning application is submitted to Cardiff Council's Planning Committee.

Delivered under Cardiff Council and Welsh Governments Band B Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, the scheme is the largest in scale and investment and will see new build schools for Cantonian High School, Riverbank School and Woodlands School located on one dedicated site in Fairwater. The joint campus would also boast a range of comprehensive facilities which will be available for public use.

In September 2020, Cardiff Council's Cabinet approved the scheme following approval from the Welsh Government in July 2020. The proposals include:

• Replacing the Cantonian High School buildings with new build accommodation on the same site expanding the school from six forms of entry (6FE) to eight forms of entry (8FE) with sixth form provision for up to 250 pupils;
• Expanding the Specialist Resource Base (SRB) for learners with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), hosted at Cantonian High School to 30 places in purpose built accommodation in the new school buildings;
• Relocating Woodlands School to the Fairwater Campus site from its current site adjacent to Trelai Park and increasing the capacity to 240 places in new build accommodation;
• Relocating Riverbank School to the Fairwater Campus site from its current site adjacent to Trelai Park, and increasing the capacity to 112 places in new build accommodation.

Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council, and Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry, said: "This public consultation is the next step in the development of Cardiff's first joint educational campus and an exciting milestone for the futures of Cantonian, Woodlands and Riverbank Schools.

I encourage people to come forward and have their say to help shape the plans that will support the development of this pioneering campus which represents a significant investment in the Fairwater area and will ensure that the pupils, staff and the local community benefit from excellent, modern amenities." Cardiff Council announced that ISG Construction willundertake the detailed design and build process for the scheme.

Following public consultation and the approval of planning in November 2022, the enabling works associated with the scheme will begin this month including the establishment of a temporary school on the south of the site. This is to allow the main school construction to take place on the north of the site, where the existing Cantonian High School buildings currently stand.

The Pre-ApplicationConsultation runs until Monday 6^thFebruary 2023. To view the proposals and to have your say please visit:Cantonian High School, Fairwater Road, Fairwater, Cardiff / Ysgol Uwchradd Cantonian High School, Fairwater Road, Caerdydd (asbriplanning.co.uk)

Public drop-in sessions will take place on:

• Tuesday 17th January at Cantonian High School, Fairwater Road, Fairwater, CF5 3JR, from 16.00 - 19.30
• Wednesday 18th January at Pentrebane Zone Community Centre,Beechley Drive, CF5 3SG, from 15.00-19.00.
• Thursday 19th January at Insole Court, Drawing Room: Fairwater Road, CF5 2LN 14.00 - 19.00

The Fairwater Campus is Cardiff's trailblazing development setting the standard for future school projects as thefirst school campus to be operationally Net Zero Carbon, also targeting significant reduction in embodied carbon during the build stage of the project. This means the three schools will be highly energy efficient buildings that are powered from renewable energy sources, enabling Cardiff todeliver on its One Planet Strategy which outlines the city's ambition tomitigate climate change.

To learn more about Cardiff Council's One Planet Strategy please visitOPC vision document.pdf (oneplanetcardiff.co.uk)

The Planning Application for the main construction of the new campus is anticipated to be submitted in March 2023.

Subject to planning and procurement, construction of the new campus is expected to start early next year and be completed in the 2025/26 academic year. 

Images are subject to change following consultation and statutory approvals.