Green light for ‘overbearing’ flats dubbed ‘echoes of the 60s’

Nicholas Thomas Local Democracy Reporter

A developer’s controversial designs for two blocks of affordable flats in a Welsh town centre have narrowly won planning permission, after locals objected the buildings would be “overbearing”.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee narrowly voted to back the plans for 58 apartments on a car park near Market Place, Blackwood.

Each flat will be designated as affordable and managed by a local housing association.

But the committee heard there was sizeable opposition to the project.

Local resident Howard Evans, speaking on behalf of objectors, told the committee the proposed blocks of flats were “too high, too big and [will] totally dominate and overpower the surrounding houses”.

Existing residents will “suffer significant loss of privacy” due to overlooking from the new homes, he contended.

Fears

Describing the designs as “echoes of the 60s”, Mr Evans said residents feared the project, when completed, would “inevitably” lead to problems such as more antisocial behaviour in the town centre.

Blackwood councillor Andrew Farina-Childs also objected to the plans, telling the committee “there is nothing else currently in Blackwood of this size and scale”.

The flats would “alter the demographics of the town”, he claimed, adding that he would “like to know who those apartments are for”.

But council planning officer Liz Rowley said there is a “desperate need for this type of accommodation within the local area”.

A council report states nearly 6,000 people are currently on the waiting list for affordable housing in Blackwood.

Planning agent Joe Ayoubkhani, speaking on behalf of applicant GHR Developments Ltd, told the committee the project “addresses critical housing needs and drives the regeneration of a neglected part of the town”.

He claimed the new homes will have a “significant positive impact… on the town and its residents”.

Reservations

Several members of the planning committee had reservations about the scale of the project, however.

Cllr Shane Williams said the committee had to be “mindful” of the “sheer size” of the blocks and the impact on existing residents, while Cllr Greg Ead told colleagues he was “extremely concerned and quite uneasy about the massive scale of these flats and their location”.

But Carwyn Powell, the council’s team leader development manager, challenged Cllr Ead’s claim the project was “unlike anything we’ve seen in the county borough”.

Mr Powell said other buildings in Caerphilly and Risca were of a similar scale, and told the committee Welsh Government guidance favours high-density developments on brownfield sites.

Committee member Cllr Mansel Powell said he had “major concerns” about the “overbearing” new homes, but Cllr Mike Adams told colleagues “social housing that is affordable for so many of our residents is so needed”.

Five members of the committee voted in favour of the application, with two voting against and four abstaining.

Planning permission will be granted subject to the finalisation of an agreement that will confirm the flats are to be used as affordable housing.