There were widespread protests over the Cardiff closure plans

After school reorganisation plans were rejected by opposition councillors as badly thought out, Rodney Berman said there must be consensus.

The Liberal Democrat group leader said there were too few secondary places for pupils now in Welsh-language primaries.

Plans to shut 17 schools were rejected, but he said there would still have to be closures because of surplus places.

Mr Berman told the BBC Wales' Politics Show: "It's not just a worry, it's a crisis.

It's the people of Cardiff and the future generations that are suffering because of this Rodney Berman, Cardiff Council leader

"We have children in Welsh-medium primary schools in Cardiff for whom we don't have places once they get to secondary schools level.

"In a few years' time we'll have children expecting to carry on their Welsh-medium education and we won't have schools to put them in - so yes that is a crisis.

Last Thursday opposition councillors on the council united to defeat the minority Liberal Democrat administration's plans to reorganise city schools.

Six secondary schools and 11 primaries had been earmarked for closure under the proposals, which were to have gone out to public consultation.

The council says it needs to cut surplus pupil spaces in the city

There had been a number of protests against the plans by parents and pupils since they were made public at the start of April.

Mr Berman also accused the opposition of failing to do what was necessary to address the problem of a surplus 8,000 places in Cardiff's schools.

Common ground

This would leave the council unable to start tackling the �60m backlog of repairs needed, he said.

"Those problems are still with us - it's the people of Cardiff and the future generations that are suffering because of this.

Mr Berman said the Welsh Assembly Government provided funding for the city's schools based on the number of pupils, and as numbers fell there was less money to go round.

"If we don't do something there are going to be some schools - particularly in deprived areas of the city - which are going to suffer the most because they'll end up having no funding to continue and they'll just wither away and end up having to close anyway."

He said the Liberal Democrats would have to find common ground with the other parties to resolve the situation.

"The Wales Audit Office said that we can only fund improvements to our schools if we do effect reorganisation because that's the only way we're going to do it.

"We need to take that argument out and we need to make sure people actually understand that argument better".

Mr Berman also criticised Plaid Cymru for opposed a reorganisation plan that would have expanded Welsh-medium education.

But Plaid group leader Delme Bowen said his party could not support the plan in its current form because it would have meant closing small schools in deprived areas.

Mr Bowen said other options should be considered to address the problem of surplus places and to ensure the growing demand for Welsh medium-education wa met.

After Thursday's vote, opposition parties and some parents' group denied their decision was based on party politics.

Conservative councillor Linda Morgan said at the time: "It's nothing to do with the bloody-nosing of the Liberal Democrats. It's about the plan which is flawed and doesn't stack up.

"We know we have to do something about the surplus places but I think the plan is too big."

Labour's Greg Owens said that "no responsible councillors after three weeks' awareness could say yes to these proposals".

"What we can't do is announce a vast raft of proposals," said Mr Owens. "There's a lot more than 17 schools involved in this - it involves the whole city."