The Chairman of the Brecon and Radnorshire Conservative Association has backed a Powys cabinet member who resigned online during a meeting.

Peter Weavers said that Powys County Councillor Iain McIntosh has his “full support” following his resignation just seconds after his fellow councillors voted to push forward with closing Cradoc School.

Powys’ portfolio holder for housing, planning and economic development, Cllr McIntosh, Delivered his shocking resignation from both cabinet and the Conservative Group in the council only seconds after councillors had voted to give the go ahead to the proposal which will see Cradoc Primary School close as it merges with Mount Street Juniors and Mount Street Infants schools.

Mr Weavers said: “As Chairman of Brecon & Radnorshire Conservative Association and as a concerned Breconshire resident I have followed the process surrounding the prospective closure of Cradoc County Primary School closely.

“Powys County Council’s Cabinet decision to continue the process has caused Iain McIntosh, County Councillor for the Yscir ward and a staunch member of the Conservative Party and our Association, to stand down from his position in Cabinet and from the Conservative Group at County Hall.

“Councillor McIntosh has my full support. While recognising that rural schools have been placed under threat by Welsh Government policy, the Conservative Party in Wales has fought recent elections accompanied by manifesto commitments that call the Cabinet’s continuing threat to the future of the school at Cradoc into extremely serious question. Iain stands by the Party’s manifesto commitments because he is a true Conservative, a man of principle and a man who stands with and on behalf of his community for what is right.

“I look forward to joining Iain in many campaigns to come as we continue to promote what we believe to be policies that will improve lives, conditions and places throughout Brecon and Radnorshire. Those policies are founded in real Conservatism; I salute and support Iain for standing up to be counted in their pursuit.”

Cllr McIntosh slammed the plan to close Cradoc Primary School as “un-Conservative” at the meeting and has actively spoken against the proposal and how it could negatively impact those who use the school.

However the Yscir ward councillor had declared an interest meaning that he could not vote at the meeting last Tuesday, December 14, which saw councillors vote unanimously in favour of the plans.

Cllr Phyl Davies, the Conservative portfolio holder for education, has championed the school reorganisation which would merge the three schools under one headteacher and governing body with the plans to eventually move it to a new building.

Following the vote, Cllr McIntosh delivered his resignation - which he has since officially handed in via email - from outside Cradoc Primary School.

Addressing all present at the meeting, which was broadcast on Microsoft Teams, he said: “So I’m afraid I’m going to be residing from the Conservative Group with immediate effect and obviously my position on the cabinet as well.

“This decision, I just cannot stomach and will be fighting very much against it from this point.”

Cllr McIntosh earlier in the meeting stated that Brecon and Radnorshire’s MP Fay Jones and MS James Evans were both against the closure of Cradoc C.P School.

Since Cllr McIntosh’s official resignation, council leader Rosemarie Harris and deputy leader Aled Davies have thanked him for his time on the cabinet.

They said: “We thank Ian for his work and wish him well for the future. We understand that the matter of education transformation and potential closure of Cradoc Primary School is a sensitive one. We do hope that Cllr Iain will reconsider and withdraw his resignation.

Cllr Harris also added that she would take on Cllr McIntosh’s responsibilities with immediate effect.

Meanwhile Cllr Aled Davies, who is also the leader of the Welsh Conservative Group within the council, added that he was “very sad” to hear of Cllr McIntosh’s resignation.

The councillor of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant / Llansilin ward said: “I am very sad that Iain has decided to step down from the Cabinet and from the Welsh Conservative group on Powys CC, he had not been on the Cabinet long but he had contributed much. I was aware of his views before he was invited by the Leader to join the Cabinet.

“The transformation proposal for the schools in Brecon and Cradoc that was considered by Cabinet today will deliver much improved educational opportunities for the children, for them to shares a site with the new High School to be able to access their great facilities as well as a new primary school building will give them opportunities that I could only dream of.

“The alternative was for the children to continue their education in a school that, by Iain’s own admission, was well past its ‘sell-by date’.

“I do hope that Iain will reconsider his position, together, our Welsh Conservative group has help transform the once failing Council, you only have to consider the recent Estyn report to see the evidence of that improvement. To deliver change, hard decisions have to be taken, non-harder than closing a well loved school and I do understand the anger within the local community but at the same time we must deliver far better opportunities for the next generation of Powys children, our Group will not duck those hard decisions”

Consultation on the plans to merge the three schools for September 2023 took place earlier this year between February 25 and March 12.

The Cabinet was told that pupils would then transfer to the new building in 2025/2026 and that the proposal will see a new 360-place English-medium primary school at Penlan on the former Brecon High School Site.

The old high school site would also include a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and a community swimming pool as part of the scheme.

Earlier in the meeting last week, the council’s head of communication and transformation, Emma Palmer had told councillors that eventually “years down the line” expectation is that the new build joins with Brecon High School to become an “all through school.”

The whole scheme which includes a new 180 place dual-stream primary school in Sennybridge - replacing the current building there - is estimated to cost £32 million.

Powys County Council has said that a statutory notice with the proposal to merge the three existing schools to create a new primary school will be published in the new year.

The plans will help the council to deliver its Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys - an ambit ten-year strategy that was approved last year.

For more information and Transforming Education in Powys, visit the Powys website by clicking here.