A VALLEYS council is planning to demolish a former primary school after thieves stole lead flashings from the roof.

Blaenau Gwent Council are to debate a proposal to demolish Arael School, Six Bells at a cost of £100,000.

The empty site will then be handed over to Pontypool Park Estate either for disposal or for a future redevelopment. It is not known yet exactly what will be done with the site.

The proposal comes after the former school was vandalised in April this year with lead flashing being stolen from the roof.

This led to roof leakage causing a significant amount of damage inside the building too.

It is now estimated that to repair the roof damage caused by the vandalism, £30,000 would be needed.

Due to this and the fact that the roof covering is formed of tiles with high asbestos content, repairs were not carried out which has led to the condition of the building to deteriorate.

It is now thought that for a full repair and restoration of the building, the council would need to stump up between £250,000 and £300,000.

As the cost of demolishing the building is estimated to be a third of this at £100,000, it is recommended that this is the best option to take.

The council has occupied the building by lease since November 2001 and based their education department offices there until March 2009.

The property has since been vacant but holding the lease means the council is responsible for maintaining the property and keeping it in good order.

Councillors originally approved to surrender the lease of the former school to Pontypool Park Estate back in May this year but will now decide at tomorrow’s meeting whether to approve the securing of funding for the demolition.