A newly elected Labour county councillor has urged Monmouthshire County Council to put the multi-million pound ‘root and branch redevelopment’ of Abergavenny’s King Henry VIII?School and the adjacent leisure centre at the top of its agenda.

Councillor Tudor Thomas says the school and leisure centre are in ‘dire need’ of a huge revamp to bring both ‘into the Twenty-first Century’ which he says could cost around £50m

The Priory ward councillor said the plans, which were revealed several years ago would be largely funded through the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools initiative designed to modernise Welsh education, would involve knocking down the current site and completely rebuilding.

Two other Monmouthshire schools, Monmouth Comprehensive and Caldicot School, have both completed revamps costing almost £100m through the initiative, with the latter reopening its doors in September’s new school term.

Councillor Thomas said his own blueprint would include significant investment funnelled into Abergavenny Leisure Centre, in the mould of the estimated £7m plans for Monmouth Leisure Centre’s mooted rebuild.

Urging Monmouthshire County Council to put the plans atop its agenda, Councillor Thomas said the proposed development would make significant strides toward levelling the service gap between Abergavenny and surrounding areas.

“Abergavenny is the poor relation in terms of leisure and education, and that is not going to change any time soon unless the county council starts pressing to do things,” said Mr Thomas.

“When King Henry is rebuilt, I hope those plans will include the leisure centre and that any plans include rebuilding the swimming pool, which is the prime asset there.

“I went up to the school last week, and it hasn’t changed much since I was teaching there in 1995. There have been some improvements made, but the leisure centre there is over 40 years old, and the facilities are completely out-of-date.”

The Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools programme has allocated millions for ‘long-term and strategic’ investment in Welsh schools in an attempt to modernise buildings and facilities as a campaign of fundamental education reforms take place in Wales.

Mr Thomas said the plans, which have no concrete start dates as of yet, would see Welsh Government provide the bulk of funding, supplemented by contributions from MCC.

“This rebuild is still up in the air, but is due to come in soon under the 21st Century Schools initiative. The county council can’t do it alone. Most of the money would come from Welsh Government, which is spending money all over the education system in Wales.

“The King Henry building is not fit for purpose. As a place to educate our youngsters, its very poor and past its sell-by-date. The way that teaching and learning has changed with the advent of IT, you need a school like Caldicot’s with state of the art IT systems,” he said.

The county councillor added that leisure facilities at the Hereford Road site were driving families away to more modern facilities in neighbouring local authorities, something, he said, was unacceptable.

“I feel sorry for the staff, both at the school and leisure centre. They work incredibly hard and are trying to make the best of it. The new head teacher at King Henry has done an incredible job. I strongly recommend the redevelopment goes ahead as soon as possible. The council needs to get moving.”

Councillor Richard John, a Conservative for Mitchel Troy ward and cabinet member with responsibility for education, said the plans would need cross-party support, with fiscal decisions at the centre of any discussion. ??

“I know that Councillor Thomas and others have been quite vocal on this matter, and have been making the case. We in the Conservative section of the council have been clear that we are committed to investing in the school estate. ?

?“I’ll be meeting with the Welsh Government in the autumn, and visiting the school in Abergavenny. Some difficult decisions will have to be made with regards to funding, but we have encouraged all sides to make the case.” ?Councillor John added that in usual cases involving the 21st Century Schools program, half of the money is met by Welsh Government, with the rest coming from the local authority.

Under the seven year Twenty First Century Schools programme revealed by MCC?in 2014 a rebuilt?King?Henry VIII?School was due to open by 2018.

Last week Monmouthshire County Council backed a plan and agreed finances to proceed with the building of a new 25 metre pool and a completely re-modelled leisure centre in Monmouth.

At its meeting, the council was presented with four options to deliver the project and voted for the option which will see the leisure centre and pool by the end of next year.

Councillor Bob Greenland, deputy leader of the council who has responsibility for the project commented: "I am very pleased members have backed our preferred option to re-open the new pool and the leisure centre in the shortest possible time. When we began this project it was simply to provide a new pool. Now councillors have backed our plans to provide a 25 metre pool as promised.

“Designed to Amateur Swimming Association standards, it will be suitable for local galas with enhanced viewing areas and better facilities for youngsters to learn to swim. But now we will be giving Monmouth much more than just the pool. There will be a re-modelled leisure centre with the latest facilities and equipment. Clearly, this will mean a longer re-build period than when we were just considering a new pool, but I am convinced the wait will be worth it. Taken together with the adjacent school, now under construction, this massive £50 million plus investment for Monmouth demonstrates this council’s commitment not only to the wellbeing of our current generation, but of those for years to come.”

The new centre will include more fitness and spinning suites, a spa, squash courts, a special sensory unit and an adventure play area with adjacent cafe. In addition, a new sports hall within the adjacent new school will be shared with the school.