I AM really glad that the withheld document on the future of Vale primary schools has now been released.

I believe this has been a long time coming and should have been released sooner. It is absolutely shocking that members of the public had to rely on a leak to launch a campaign to save their schools.

In all I do feel that this matter was badly handled by the Labour-led Vale of Glamorgan Council because despite their election pledge to be more open and transparent they in fact were doing the opposite causing many parents to rightly panic and worry. So after many complaints and requests from members what does the Leader say 'he was leaving up to the relevant Scrutiny to deal with it'.

The report actually recommended that Oak Field, Llanfair and Llancarfan should close but when parents got to hear about this they stood up and saved these three schools. What I do find strange is that one Labour member advised me that there was no future for Oak Field yet it would appear they did a U-turn on the back of public pressure. You also have to remember that Labour members voted on scrutiny to accept the report and closure proposals – Why didn’t they speak out at the time???

So now these schools have been saved what next? What will happen to the others schools in the area such as Jenner Park and Colcot? It will be interesting to see just what the future now holds for these schools.

We have to remember that we are being told by the Welsh Government that we need to deal with school places, so this matter is still not off the agenda. It is important that parents and staff are kept involved and informed in all future decisions.

Richard Bertin

Barry Independent Councillor

Vale of Glamorgan Council