SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Fflint Wrecsam has vowed to fight the controversial school closure plans for Saltney.
Flintshire County Council is once again seeking views on the proposed closure of St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, and the amalgamation of St David’s Catholic Primary School, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School to create a new 3-18 super school.
A separate consultation has also been launched on the proposed amalgamation of Saltney Ferry Primary School and Saltney Wood Memorial School.
Mr Rowlands, Welsh Conservative spokesperson for Education and Families, has continually backed parents, governors and teachers who in previous consultations have overwhelmingly objected to the plans.
He said: “I am really angry that we are having yet more consultations on the future of schools in Flintshire when there is so much opposition.
“I recently met once again with concerned parents from St Anthony’s in Saltney, who are determined to fight to keep their school open.
“They are quite rightly very angry that despite a previous consultation showing 95% of respondents were against the proposal the council will not listen.
“I remain vehemently against these plans as I am a firm believer in keeping schools local and I do not think merging four local schools into one superschool is the right way forward.
“St Anthony’s, for example, has been part of the Saltney community for over 150 years and provides education grounded in Christian values.
“I have also met with David Whittaker, one of the organisers of the Saltney Ferry Parents and Community Campaign opposing Saltney Ferry School’s closure and I am extremely concerned that the council have not taken into consideration the wider impact of these proposals could have on local families and the community.
“It is absolutely astonishing to see the Council totally ignoring the public’s views on these matters.
“Meanwhile I am urging everyone to once again to tell the council their views on these two controversial proposals and take part in the consultation which is now live until July 29.”
Previous consultation exercises were undertaken on the proposals during 2025, but both processes were halted in March 2026 following the receipt of a late legal challenge relating to the Catholic schools consultation process, which could also have had implications for the Saltney consultation.
Any proposals, should they be approved following completion of the required statutory processes, would be implemented by September 2027. This would include the closure of St Anthony’s, while the new Catholic school would operate on the remaining sites until a new school has been constructed on the sites of St Richard Gwyn and St Mary’s in Flint.
Similarly, the new Saltney primary school would operate across both sites until a new school building is completed on land at Saltney Wood.
The Council sought legal advice in response, however the time required to properly consider that advice meant that statutory timescales could no longer be met.
Following review, the Council’s Cabinet agreed to restart the consultations into the original proposals.
The changes are being proposed as the Council aims to reduce the number of surplus places at the affected schools, which have been consistently under-subscribed in recent years. Both consultations are open until July 29.
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