RESIDENTS are up in arms about a proposal to have a cesspit solution for the proposed new Ysgol Carreg Emlyn building in Clocaenog.

Although in support of the plan, many residents have been shocked by the proposal to locate the new school building right in the middle of the village.

The original planning application for a new school was lodged in April last year and has attracted a lot of adverse comments because the site is subject to flooding and has already been rejected as unsuitable for housing.

Many residents have also expressed their concern about the increase in traffic on very narrow roads and about insufficient parking in the village.

However, the Clocaenog Residents’ Group feels that the proposal for a cess pit is “the last straw”.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Instead of accepting that the site is unsuitable, the Council has submitted a revised planning application which proposes dealing with sewage by using a cesspit

”How can the Council call the new building a “21 st Century School” when it is proposing a mediaeval sewage system, which would be completely illegal in Scotland and in many other European countries?”

Residents have been told that the cess pit would be required to have vents to discharge excess noxious fumes and that it would have to be emptied two or three timesmevery week, using large tankers. This could cost in the region of £60, 000 to £70,000 a year.

The spokesperson continued: “We feel the children in our area are being short changed and put at risk – there is the risk of flooding, and now the risk associated with noxious fumes being discharged from the cess pit. This is simply not good enough.

“There are many other possible sites for the new school both in and around Clocaenog and Clawddnewydd. Why doesn’t the council get cracking and start looking for a suitable site?”

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County council said: “The proposal for a cesspool for the Ysgol Carreg Emlyn development is not the preferred mode of foul drainage for this scheme, and that provision of package treatment within the site has always been, and remains the favoured option.  

"Following production of an options analysis identifying all the possible routes that could be considered it was evident the only viable / achievable solution was to submit a revised application including the proposal for a cesspool.  

"The proposed location of the cesspool within the development is such that if in time, an alternative mode of foul drainage becomes available and/or approved, adaption would be achievable with limited impact on the school and neighbours.”