Angry parents of children at an Aeron Valley primary school earmarked for closure are threatening to make a complaint of maladministration against Ceredigion County Council.

Members of the local authority were set to confirm the August 2022 closure of three Aeron Valley schools – Dihewyd, Felinfach and Ciliau Aeron – at yesterday’s meeting of full council.

Yet parents of Ysgol Ciliau Parc in Ciliau Aeron, which has over 70 pupils, say they are “extremely bitter” that the vote is taking place “without adequate and meaningful consultation with the community” and are considering making a complaint to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

They say only one drop-in session was held for parents during the consultation.

The only organised meeting held by council representatives, school governors and parents was deemed an informal meeting.

The parents claim this could have prejudiced the formal consultation outcomes presented to Ceredigion council’s Cabinet in November.

There are also concerns over the council’s timetable for building a new area school.

Parent and spokesman Andrew Docherty, an architect who has previously worked on new school building projects in the Bristol area, described the timetable as "completely unrealistic”.­

“Given that the council has stated it does not even have a suitable site for the area school secured yet, it seems impossible that the new school will be ready by August 2022,” he said.

“What happens to the children then?”

A Ceredigion County Council spokesman said: “Since 2016, extensive formal and informal consultation has been undertaken with the affected communities in line with statutory guidance.

“Parents and community members have been invited to express their opinions in a drop-in session with council officers and through the formal methods outlined by Welsh Government.”

See this week’s South Ceredigion paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now