Parents from St David’s Catholic Primary School in Mold have delivered an eight‑page legal letter to Flintshire County Council demanding immediate answers about the authority’s plan to create a new Catholic “super‑school” in Flint. The letter, sent via solicitors Addleshaw Goddard, gives the council until the close of business on Wednesday 22 July to respond — a week before the first phase of consultation ends on 29 July 2026.
What the parents want
The core point of contention is the project cost. The consultation documents published by the council state an indicative capital cost of £55 million, with the expectation that the Welsh Government would fund 85% via the Sustainable Communities for Learning Fund and Flintshire Council would meet the remainder through borrowing. The parents say those figures were calculated in 2024 and have not been updated to reflect sharply higher construction inflation.
The solicitors’ letter accuses the council of failing to provide an updated estimate and of making only vague references to revising the figure during the consultation process. The letter asks whether the council has factored in the likely increases to costs if the scheme is delayed further.
“The council has failed to update the £55m indicative capital costs figure from the previous consultation and has made only vague reference in the new consultation document to doing so during the process,”
Which schools are affected
| Existing schools | Town |
|---|---|
| St David’s Catholic Primary | Mold |
| St Anthony’s Catholic Primary | Saltney |
| St Mary’s Catholic Primary | Flint |
| St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School | Flint |
| Proposed new facility | Flint |
Local impact and process
If the council proceeds with the plan as set out in the consultation, the four existing Catholic schools named above would close and pupils would move to a single combined site in Flint. The parents who launched the earlier legal challenge, which paused the authority’s previous consultation, say consultees cannot give informed responses unless up‑to‑date cost information is in the public domain.
The legal letter asks the council to answer a series of questions the parents consider “critical” to the proposals. Providing the requested information by 22 July would give families a week to digest the responses before the first consultation phase closes on 29 July.
- Deadline set by parents’ solicitors: End of business, 22 July 2026.
- Consultation phase closes: 29 July 2026.
- Indicative cost in documents: £55 million (figures calculated in 2024).
For parents and staff directly affected, the outcome will influence school places, travel arrangements and council borrowing. The request for updated costs reflects wider concerns about construction inflation following global events that have pushed building prices higher in recent years.
Flintshire Council will now need to decide whether to publish revised costings and detailed answers before the consultation deadline. Those answers will determine whether parents feel able to proceed with the consultation or pursue further legal steps.
