Machynlleth school building could host Welsh language services

A soon-to-be-surplus school building in Powys could house a specialist unit teaching the Welsh language, a county councillor says.

New £48m premises for Ysgol Bro Hyddgen in Machynlleth will include a new library and leisure centre.

Plaid Cymru group leader Elwyn Vaughan says the current sixth-form building could host a Welsh-language immersion unit and business advice teams.

Powys council says it will consider the idea as part of ongoing developments.

The current sixth-form building, known as Canolfan Hyddgen, was opened by the late former first minister Rhodri Morgan in 2009 as one of the first Passivhaus eco-friendly buildings in Wales.

Councillor Vaughan, who is also a governor of the school, said his suggestion could provide a new use and "clear identity" for the building as a base to promote the Welsh language.

"It is so well placed to serve a large area of north Powys, Gwynedd and Ceredigion and could prove to be a base for a cluster of complementary initiatives," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Business support organisations Menter Iaith Cymru and Menter Maldwyn could be among those finding a home at Canolfan Hyddgen, Mr Vaughan added.

He suggested the presence of a Welsh-language education unit could also help counter the concerns of parents unhappy with a decision to re-classify the school as Welsh medium with the loss of its English-language stream.