“Shocked and saddened”-Welsh Lib Dems criticise decision to close Coleg Sir Gar

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have expressed their “shock and sadness” over the decision to close Coleg Sir Gar.

The Ammanford campus was founded in 1927 and focused on health, social and childcare as well as construction industry crafts.

However the campus is now set to close following the withdrawal of financial support by the Welsh Government.

Commenting, Welsh Liberal Democrat PPC for Carmarthen Nick Beckett:

“it is disappointing to lose such an important resource for Ammanford and the surrounding area.

It is a pity the Ammanford campus apparently can’t be the one to benefit from the promised Mutual Investment Model and be brought up to standard.

Investment in the education infrastructure in the county is welcome but real thought must be given to issues around accessibility, particularly public transport.

We cannot force students to travel even further for their education, whilst at the same time make cuts to the very bus services they will be relying on to travel to and from.

We urge the Plaid Cymru administration in County Hall to urgently carry out an impact assessment and consider how to mitigate any negative outcomes.

Commenting, Welsh Liberal Democrat Cllr Julian Tandy said:

” I am shocked and saddened that the last remaining tertiary college in the Amman Valley is now slated for complete closure.

The new campus in the revamped Pibwrlwyd campus in Carmarthen will be 18 miles away from Dyffryn Aman, the largest secondary school in Carmarthenshire.

The community will lose a valuable resource, the local shops and community will lose what little footfall it has.

 Nearly 100 years of education shut at a commercial whim, removing the vital local courses relevant to the construction industry and care work.

What sort of message does that sent to students and residents of the Amman valley? other than that the powers in charge at Carmarthen County Hall and Cardiff do not care about us and our area.”