SAMUEL Kurtz MS has urged the Welsh Government to make a clear statement on what support it can offer Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure that Manorbier School is rebuilt following the devastating fire of October 2022.
Manorbier Church in Wales VC School and its adjoining schoolhouse was severely damaged by a fire on October 11, 2022, which broke out in the school roof space.
After that, a ‘school from school’ was set up in Jameston Village Hall.
It had been hoped the school would be rebuilt, but earlier this year members of Pembrokeshire County Council backed a report of the School Modernisation Working Group which, amongst other recommendations, included statutory consultation with the St David’s Diocese on proposals to discontinue Manorbier Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School.
At that July meeting, St Davids Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) said: “It is vital that PCC, council members and the public are aware the DBF have always required that the school be reinstated and that this has been put to PCC on a number of occasions, in writing and in meetings.
“From the date of the fire up until May 2025, the DBF has always been led to believe that the school would be reinstated by PCC.”
It stated it was against the proposal to discontinue Manorbier, asking: “Would a consultation on the closure of Manorbier VC School have been proposed had it not been ravaged by fire?”
The decision attracted strong local opposition, with more than 1,200 people signing a petition on the council’s own website calling for the school to be rebuilt.
The petition runs to November 26.
Member of the Senedd for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Mr Kurtz has now called on the Welsh Government to clarify what assistance it can provide to Pembrokeshire County Council to help secure the future of the Manorbier school site and to support the community’s campaign for its reinstatement.
Speaking outside the Senedd, Samuel Kurtz said: “Manorbier School has been at the heart of its community for generations, and its loss has been deeply felt by pupils, parents and residents alike. The strength of feeling shown by the over 1,200 people who signed the petition underlines just how important this school is to the area.
“I’m calling on the Welsh Government to work constructively with Pembrokeshire County Council to find a way forward, that sees the Council honour its original commitment to rebuild the school, so that the community of Manorbier can once again have a village school to call their own.”
The petition says closure of the school “will have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of our children, their families and the wider community,” adding: “We would have been celebrating our 150-year anniversary there in January 2023, had it not been for the fire that damaged the building.
“A fire, we hasten to add, caused through no fault of our own. A fire, which could, if you allow it to, change the future of our children; our staff; our parents; our governors; our community; our church; our heritage and our history.
“We fully support the Diocesan’s view that the school should be rebuilt.”
