Hopes new business park road will attract investment and jobs

Nicholas Thomas Local Democracy Reporter

New proposals show a Welsh business park could be set for an extension, potentially bringing more investment and jobs for the area.

Caerphilly County Borough Council is seeking planning permission for a new access road for Oakdale Business Park, which sits on a reclaimed tip “plateau”.

If approved and completed, the road will open up the south of the business park for further development.

The site in Oakdale is earmarked as key employment land in the council’s local development plan, and more recent local authority strategies have reiterated its importance for jobs and industry.

“Future expansion”

According to the application form for the proposed new road, the project will “facilitate the future expansion” of the business park, and “will serve as critical infrastructure to unlock additional employment land for future business use”.

A turning area for lorries, and four junctions for prospective development plots, have also been included in the new proposals.

The wider Oakdale site features in the council’s new ‘economic and regeneration strategy’, which was approved earlier this year.

The strategy sets out “prosperity ambitions” for Caerphilly County Borough, with a “strong and resilient” economy “underpinned by a robust manufacturing sector and vibrant towns”.

Among its projects is an aim to “prioritise the Oakdale plateau sites for development for mid- or larger manufacturing uses”.

At a meeting in April, councillors heard firms had shown “interest” in setting up in Oakdale, but their arrival would hinge on the local authority improving road access at the site.

The application for the proposed new road is currently out for consultation, and can be viewed on the Caerphilly County Borough Council website under reference 25/0552/FULL.