ANXIOUS parents waiting to learn the fate of a village school which faces closure may have a glimmer of hope in the eleventh hour.

The Local Development Plan has identified a need for 93 dwellings in Govilon and 112 in Gilwern.

As yet no decision has been made over the future of Govilon Primary School and concern is growing after the announcement of Llanover' closure earlier this month. The school has 23 pupils on the roll and a capacity for 114. Both schools faced a fate of closure to try and tackle the 400 surplus school places. A three-week consultation on the proposals was held in summer last year before the final decision was passed to the Assembly.

Campaigners formed the Govilon Primary School action group to challenge the council's proposal.

Chairman of Govilon Community Council and vice chairman of governors at Govilon School, John James said, "Govilon desperately needs these houses. There hasn't been a development since the 80s. and without bringing families into the area there is just an older generation which means the school is under threat. Our only hope is Monmouthshire County Council take notice of these plans. They always said they could not wait around for the LDP plans. Now we have them. This could be a glimmer of hope, there's now also the housing at Cooper's Field to consider. There will be more children here - where will they go to school?"

Mr James added, "It's not saying the homes will be 100 per cent guaranteed but it is hope."

Councillor Christine Walby said, "Part of our case for keeping the school open was that they were not taking these possible properties into account when making their decision. There could be some hope. there's a lot of really good arguments."

A spokeswoman for Brecon Beacons National Park Authority said, ""Every Local Authority in Wales has to prepare a Local Development Plan for its area. Once adopted, the Local Development Plan - known as the LDP - will become the Development Plan for the land and settlements in the Brecon Beacons National Park area and it will take the place of the existing plan.  This document describes a strategy and integrated set of policies and site specific proposals that are linked to the vision of the National Park Authority's constituent Local Authorities' community strategies and the Brecon Beacons National Park Management Plan. As with previous development plans the LDP will be used to encourage appropriate projects and minimise inappropriate developments.   It will therefore provide the statutory basis by which planning applications can be determined in a fair, structured and consistent way.

"At the moment Brecon Beacons National Park Authority is preparing the Draft LDP for public consultation and this is known as the Deposit Draft LDP.  The Deposit Draft LDP will be open for public consultation and a public inquiry by a planning inspector so is therefore subject to change.  The earliest it could be adopted would be 2012 and it will then last for 15 years. The plan describes how existing settlements in the National Park will be expected to grow during the lifespan of the plan and the sites identified for development have all been the subject of consultation with local communities.  The proposed sites have been chosen after many months of consultation with landowners and the public asking them to suggest and identify potential development sites within the National Park.  Two sites have been put forward for development at Govilon and at Gilwern over the next 15 years.  Boat Farm/Ty Clyd, Govilon has been proposed to house a possible 93 dwellings and Gilwern has a possible112 dwellings. 

"We expect that the Deposit Draft LDP will be available again for public consultation in the next few months and we hope that communities will take this opportunity to look carefully at what is proposed so they can help determine what should be included in the Local Development Plan – which will be the blue print for development until at least 2027."

A spokesperson for the Welsh Assembly could not confirm when a decision on the school will be announced.