Date set for decision on seaside regeneration plans with 980 homes

Lewis Smith, Local Democracy Reporter

A date has been set for a decision on plans to transform a Welsh seaside town with up to 980 new homes, leisure facilities and a new road.

The hybrid plans for Porthcawl’s seafront, which were submitted in April of 2026, will now go before a special meeting of Bridgend County Borough Council’s planning committee for a decision on December 9, 2026.

They will look for permission to build the new homes on Porthcawl’s waterfront, along with the creation of a new spine road from the Eastern Promenade to Sandy Bay.

The proposal covers an area of 43.6 hectares with sites such as Griffin Park, the former Coney Beach Pleasure Park, Monster Park, and the Hillsboro Car Park included for development.

If approved they would see a new lido swimming pool and gym built in the town, along with the development of green spaces, shops, coastal defence works, and a number of other leisure attractions.

Additionally, they could see the alteration and expansion of the town’s Griffin Park along with the development of new public car park at Coney Beach.

However, the long-term plans to transform the seafront town have been met with a great deal of opposition from some locals in recent years.

This could be seen earlier this year with a demonstration held by residents outside the council’s civic offices in May 2026, where people held banners and flags that urged the authority to rethink the contentious proposals.

Critics say they have concerns about the potential pressures that more than 900 new homes could put on local infrastructure in the town as well as to the parking capacity and access to medical care.

Others have shared fears over a potential loss of the town’s identity in the process of regeneration, with a local action group who say they want to see a more “leisure-led” development taken forward.

Council bosses previously said they had addressed many of the issues with a number of changes that came after feedback from a public consultation process – namely with a reduction in the number of proposed homes, building heights, and the inclusion of the Lido style pool.

The plans will now be discussed by members of the local authority’s planning committee on December 9, 2026 at a special meeting set to be held from 10am to 1pm.

This will come after a planned site visit by members of the committee and will allow for an extended time of up to six minutes where three individual objectors, representatives of the Town Council and a local ward member can speak.

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