WALES' children's commissioner is to publish his conclusions next week about plans for a Gwent school to be built on contaminated land.

In a letter written on May 21, Commissioner Peter Clarke said he hoped to reach his conclusions about Newport council's proposals for a new school at Durham Road in a fortnight.

The council are proposing that a private company should build a new facility under the Private Finance Initiative, on the Glebelands.

Mr Clarke, who is based in Swansea, said: "The matter of the Durham Road School in Newport is one that I am looking in to. Senior officials at Newport county borough council have shown a commendable openness in their response to my inquiries and have furnished me with full copies of all relevant reports.

"I am in discussion with them about consultation undertaken with relevant stakeholders and hope to form an opinion on the proposed development in the next two weeks."

The issue was raised with Mr Nick Bourne, leader of the Conservative group in the Assembly, when he joined his party's Newport East candidate Ian Oakley campaigning last week. Mr Bourne promised to raise the issue with the commissioner.

A spokeswoman for Newport council said they had stressed the importance of the new school in discussions with Mr Clarke, and that £1.3 million had been set aside in the PFI scheme to treat the contamination. Protesters want the school built on the nearby Compton Webb site, and are concerned about the safety implications of the metal deposits on the Glebelands which were shown up in independent studies.

John Martin, chairman of the Glebelands Action Group, said: "We're delighted to hear it will be so soon. We're not against the school, just against building it on park- land when there is a better site nearby."

Mr Clarke is not expected to adopt his full legal powers until July. He is about to start recruiting for staff to work in the commission office in the next couple of weeks. However, his verdict will carry strong, and potentially decisive, weight.