LLANFOIST Fawr Community Council has expressed an interest in purchasing land that was once part of the Victorian primary school complex.

At this week's Monmouthshire County Council cabinet meeting, Councillor Bob Greenland is proposing to sell part of the open space at the former Llanfoist Primary School to the Llanfoist Fawr Community Council, with the remainder of the site sold for infill residential development.

The original village school, which opened its doors in 1873, was a victim of the biggest shake-up of primary education in Monmouthshire in 2002 when the authority earmarked 12 schools for closure. However this number was reduced to seven after carrying out a consultation process and the Victorian school in Llanfoist eventually closed in July 2008 and was replaced with a school fit for the 21st Century in September the same year.

The site up for sale consists of the old school building, land to rear, adjacent car parking area and access road, all of which are held under different titles.

As part of the report into the sale of the various plots of land, it states that the school has been closed for a considerable period of time and has since fallen into disrepair.

The property is currently surplus to requirements and has been earmarked on the capital receipts programme.

The old school building has been broken into and is becoming a liability for the county council in terms of health and safety.

The sale of the open space and the buildings will generate a capital receipt and relieve the authority of its current maintenance and insurance liabilities. Revenue savings attributed to the cessation of grass cutting, insurance and any future security issues are in the region of £1,500 per year.

Llanfoist Fawr Community Council has formally expressed an interest in purchasing the land to the rear of the school in order to develop and improve the public open space.

The community council has obtained Section 106 funding from local building projects in order to purchase the land for the benefit of local residents.