The construction of a new building to accommodate 258 primary and nursery pupils at Cowbridge Comprehensive School has been delayed.

A letter from the Vale of Glamorgan Council has been sent to the parents and guardians of pupils at Cowbridge Comprehensive School, as well as staff members and governing body members to explain the reasons behind this.

Signed by Paula Ham, director of Learning and Skills at the council, the letter states there have been "a number of unforeseen delays which have affected the proposal's implementation."

It continues: "The development of the proposal cannot be started until planning consent and drainage consent (known as SAB approval) have been achieved. These are separate processes to the proposal being approved by the Council's Cabinet.

"Consequently, a planning application was submitted to the Local Planning Authority on 27th October 2021. Based on the submission date it was anticipated a determination would be forthcoming in December 2021, but additional information was requested by the Local Planning Authority.

"Due to the request for additional information and the need for it to be fully considered a determination on the planning application was delayed until 2nd March 2022."

The initial plan was for construction to start on February 14, 2022, with a predicted completion date of February 2023 and the school would have accommodated a reception class on its existing site by September this year.

But under the new proposed timeframe, the building would start construction in June 2022 and be ready to welcome pupils in September 2023, in time for the new academic year.

The new building will mean the school would increase from 1,586 places to 1,796 places, with the additional 258 places made up of 48 part-time nursery pupils and 210 English medium primary pupils.

This would also change the age range of pupils, from the current 11-19 age bracket to welcoming pupils aged three to 19 years old.