200 homes, shops and community facilities planned for former industrial estate
A major regeneration project which is set to transform a former industrial estate, with new homes, shops and community facilities has moved a step closer.
Contracts have been exchanged between Bridgend County Borough Council and Avant Homes for the purchase of land at the derelict site at the former Ewenny Road industrial estate in Maesteg, which will be used to build up to 200 new houses on behalf of Bridgend-based housing association, Valleys To Coast.
The £41.8m scheme will be the housing association’s largest development undertaken to date and aims to provide a mix of low-cost home ownership properties, open market sale homes, and affordable rent and social rent homes.
Cardiff Capital Region
Using £3.5m funding from Cardiff Capital Region, Bridgend County Borough Council and Clowes Developments are in the process of removing old or redundant industrial infrastructure from the derelict 16-acre site so that construction of the new houses can begin.
With the current site works expected to be complete by late 2025 and planning permission already in place, Avant will begin constructing the new homes on behalf of Valleys To Coast in early 2026 with full completion set for 2030.
The council will also introduce retail opportunities at the site along with fresh landscaping, transport links and open space. As part of its social value commitments, Valleys to Coast has also pledged £20,000 to support local projects during the construction phase.
Councillor Neelo Farr, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economic Development and Housing, said: “This ambitious project has been 10 years in the making, forms a key part of our Local Development Plan, and has been carefully designed to ensure that it meets the needs of the local community.
“It represents a multimillion pound investment into the Llynfi Valley which, once the ground works have been completed and construction work can begin, is going to completely transform our largest valleys brownfield site.
“The completed development will deliver huge economic and social benefits for both the Llynfi Valley and Bridgend County Borough, and I want to thank Cardiff Capital Region, Clowes Developments, Avant Homes, Valleys To Coast and Hugh James for their respective efforts in working together to make this a reality.”
Landmark moment
Valleys To Coast Chief Executive Jo Oak added: “This is a landmark moment for Valleys to Coast and Maesteg. Ewenny Road is not just our biggest development to date; it’s a bold step in helping families, couples, and individuals most in need of a home to put down roots here in Bridgend.
“It’s part of our ongoing commitment to tackling the housing need in our communities, creating high-quality, affordable homes that give people the stability and security they deserve.”
Mike Brough, Regional Growth Director for Cardiff Capital Region commented: “We are delighted to see the old Revlon site being unlocked, remediated and redeveloped into much-needed affordable homes and community hub.
“Through the housing viability gap fund, we have been able to invest in the northern end of Bridgend County Borough, which is essential to encourage businesses to set up, grow and for locals to feel like their local area is somewhere to thrive. It’ll be great to see how the development progresses over the coming months.”
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There also needs to be a clear commitment now from Transport for Wales for at least four buses per hour from the development to Bridgend train station. This will enable individuals to work in Central Cardiff and also will boost in the long-term the sale prices of the properties and reduce car journeys on M4.
Ewenny Road station has hourly services to Cardiff Central so this needs improving too.
Burt – planning decisions must include making the transport network more sustainable. I am no town planner, but i hope that Welsh town planners have a requirement to involve Transport for Wales in all economic development decisions.
Look at Port Talbot Parkway – next to a bus station, so is an Integrated Transport hub and lots of the buildings nearby are empty and NPT County Hall is half-full. Filling that space with well-paid jobs should be a priority!
Absolutely but there’s a limit to what local government can do to create private sector jobs. Ideally central government would vary the tax on jobs (employer NI) according to local GDP per capita to incentivise job creation in the areas that need them the most. But councils could be opening up their half empty HQs to local budding entrepreneurs to use as WeWork style coworking spaces.
Future plans should include locating businesses and jobs within a few miles of the homes rather than hoarding everything in Cardiff.
Commute, commute, commute … haven’t you got anything better to do with your time ? The endless stream of blah blah we get from Cardiff centred minds is sickening.
I fully agree with your comments, but the structure of Cardiff City Region is such that its’ leaders are focused on developing Cardiff itself. The same is true in London over towns such as Bognor Regis.
Bridgends region need to attract a major employer to benefit from lower land rental costs than Cardiff / work with an existing Bridgend organisation to expand. Unfortunately doing such activities needs a lot of effort / contacts etc.
Connecting people to more jobs and better paid jobs is vital but doesn’t mean everyone has to commute because those commuters with their better salaries can sustain more local businesses in their communities.
Too many people are now locked into commuting to get any kind of salary. Travelling to get a better salary would be a bit of a step up for them.
Whilst it sounds like a good idea, I notice there is no mention that the houses are going to be built to PassivHaus standard or better and that the layout will be organised to encourage cycling rather than driving, not to mention layout for maximising solar gain. I acquired a number of books in the early 1980s on how to do all that stuff and wonder why, given that how to do it has been in the public domain for so long, it is that so many developments always seem to be so badly laid out and built as if… Read more »