A new area school for Dyffryn Aeron has moved a step closer after Ceredigion council’s Cabinet signed off on the purchase of a ‘preferred site’ for the project.

Senior councillors met at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 30 March to discuss three investments in assets that were to be discussed “urgently” because “money has come to us at short notice”, said council leader Cllr Ellen ap Gwynn.

The meeting heard that there was £380,000 available for “economic growth projects” in the county from the Welsh Government, and members agreed to use some of the cash towards the new area school - first agreed two years ago.

The cost of assets to be purchased – as well as the exact site – were included in exempt reports but reference was made to £807,000 in relation to the purchase of the land and buildings by local member Cllr Lynford Thomas.

A Ceredigion council spokesperson told the Cambrian News that the exact site of the new school will not be revealed until the purchase is complete.

“A preferred site has been identified, but remains confidential until negotiations and the sale is completed,” the spokesperson said.

A Cabinet report said: “It is proposed to acquire land that form the area for the preferred site of the proposed Dyffryn Aeron area school, and further assets to enable its construction.

“A preferred site has been identified and sums have been negotiated for their purchase”, “subject to the results of a small number of surveys.”

Cllr ap Gwynn reminded members that a council decision had been made in 2019 to develop an area school.

She added that the purchase would allow the plan to proceed with the money available having to be spent by the end of the financial year.

The move to a new area school, made official by full council in December 2019, will see the closure of three primary schools in the Aeron Valley - Ciliau Parc, Felinfach and Dihewyd.

Initial plans were for those schools to close at the end of August 2022, but delays in securing the site and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is likely to have set back the timetable.

A public consultation held into the plan earlier in 2019 resulted in 11 objections, but councillors signed off on the project after hearing it was a “golden opportunity to provide the best chances for children in the Aeron Valley”.

The project is likely to cost around £7m to complete, earlier reports put before the council suggested, and Ciliau Aeron ward councillor Marc Davies supported the proposal saying area schools were playing a larger part in Ceredigion’s role as one of the “best educators in Wales”.

He said closing schools was an emotive subject but “the creation of an area school is the only viable option”.­

Once completed the new school will have a capacity of around 210 full-time pupils.