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Councillors have been updated on Bridgend Council’s capital spending programme (pdf). Capital spending is used to pay for one-off projects or new infrastructure.

BCBC is currently set to spend around £102 million on capital projects during the 2026-27 financial year.

Delays to new schools

Several projects have slipped behind schedule and are now expected to start in the 2027-28 financial year.

Almost all of these are new school projects. These include the new Heronsbridge Special School at Island Farm, an extension to Coety Primary, the replacement English and Welsh-medium schools in North Cornelly, the replacement Mynydd Cynffig Primary School and the replacement Ysgol Bro Ogwr.

Construction is expected to start on the new Mynydd Cynffig and Ysgol Bro Ogwr schools in spring 2027, subject to planning permission.

The Ysgol Bro Ogwr project has been held up due to the discovery of protected reptiles on-site; these are being relocated over the summer. A pre-application consultation is imminent.

Transport schemes added to programme; town centre heat scheme dropped

Several projects have been added to the capital programme as a result of Welsh and UK government grants, as well as additional funding from reserves. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but the new projects include:

Changes to Capital Programme 2026-27

£3.5 million in Welsh Government funding towards the £5 million cost of replacing the A4061 Blackmill bridge deck (the remainder coming from BCBC).
£2.83 million (across the next three financial years) to maintain and improve the safety of coal tips.
£1.9 million to replace end-of-life gas heating systems with heat pumps at four schools.
£1.7 million for the first phase of a new walking and cycling route between Bridgend and Pen-y-fai.
£1.25 million for various county-wide road safety schemes, such as improved pedestrian crossings.
£912,000 in Additional Learning Needs capital grants.
£500,000 for safety and infrastructure works at cemeteries.
£300,000 to replace the wooden Sarn boardwalk with hardier recycled plastic.
£156,000 for a new playground at Gerddi Castell, Coity.

One major item to note is that a proposed £3.3 million Bridgend town centre district heat scheme has been dropped. The project was focused on Sunnyside, but was expected to expand to cover more public buildings in the town centre over several years.

The project is no longer considered viable due to inflation and other cost increases. £1 million of capital funding has been returned to the UK Government’s Heat Network Investment Programme.