THE FORMER Narberth School is set to be demolished following a decision made by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet yesterday (Jan 9).
The building was described as ‘shoddy’ and ‘awful’ by the council Leader and it was suggested that a clean site could be more attractive to future developers.
Cabinet members also agreed that the demolition of the site should be completed by March 31.
Once demolished, the site would then be used as a temporary car park.
Council Leader Jamie Adams said: “This redevelopment opportunity has now passed with the selected developer and that arrangement has now been ended by mutual agreement.
“In terms of the old Narberth School, the site as you will recognise is a prominent site in the town and the site is adjacent to the main car park.
“Time has moved on somewhat from when this was first considered and it has been a very long running saga and economic conditions have changed considerably from the first time this was considered and perhaps we need to re-evaluate what our expectations are of this site and what it can deliver.
“I think one of the important aspects with the loss of this development; it’s not just about a commercial opportunity it is the loss of a significant number of affordable homes which is something that Narberth desperately needs.”
Cllr Keith Lewis added: “This is a very difficult situation in terms of development of a retail property at the moment and one thing that I’ve learnt is that even if were to entice a prime retailer there is an expectation because of the level of demand and supply within the retail area that leaves these retailers, almost as a rule, expecting that their investment is de-risked, whereby they expect local authorities and developers to make a significant contribution for their set-up costs.”
He also said that a leisure based development could be considered for the site and asked if the demolition of the site could also be added to the recommendations.
Cllr Elwyn Morse was concerned that the demolition could impact on any offers coming in and that some developers may wish to take the site on as it as.
Cllr Adams felt that a clean site would be better and that the building doesn’t add anything in terms of attractiveness of the site.
Director of Development Dr Stephen Jones said: “It is fair to recognise that it has some sensitivity amongst the local community. There is a group of individuals who went to the school who are very passionate about retaining the façade as part of any development. A cleaner site is obviously easier in terms of encouraging development but I think it is fair to recognise there will be some opposition to the demolition when that happens.”
Cabinet voted unanimously to approve the demolition of the building by the end of March.
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