Latest changes approved for town’s toilet block to café conversion

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

Latest changes to plans to partly demolish a town’s public toilet block and convert it to a cafe and restaurant have been approved.

Councillors have approved four sets of proposals for the toilet block in Pontypool with the latest plans approved in April this year.

Torfaen Borough Council, which is behind the application, has had to redesign and scale back the plans on three occasions to remain within budget.

The toilet conversion is part of a wider redevelopment, supported by £10.5m from the UK Government and private finance, which also includes the revamp of a nearby multi-storey car park and restoration of the derelict St James Church.

The latest changes are for a “dwarf wall” on Hanbury Road alongside an entrance to an extension to the side of the existing toilet block that will form the new restaurant and café.

The small wall will match the existing adjacent boundary wall and provide partial screening of the entrance and access ramp from the pavement.

An 11.6 metre wide section of the existing wall will be removed and the remaining wall will be rebuilt at a lower height and with its railings will be 1.1m high.

Torfaen Borough Council planning officer Mia McAndrew said the application to approve a non-material, or not significant, amendment to the plans approved in April were acceptable,

Her report stated: “The reduced wall height (approximately 0.3m lower) would not be a significant change. It is therefore considered that the proposed amendment would not be a scale great enough to cause an impact different to that caused by the original scheme, nor would it result in a detrimental visual or amenity impact.”

The planning department is still considering a separate application, submitted on the council’s behalf, which includes screening of plant equipment proposed to be stored on the roof of the rebuilt toilet block.

That application is to confirm the external architectural plans meet the requirements of the conditions imposed as part of the April planning permission.