Plans approved to turn fire damaged pub into care home

Anthony Lewis – Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to turn a former pub which was heavily damaged by a recent fire into a care home have been approved.

An application for the reconstruction and conversion of the Grade II-listed
Wattstown Hotel in Aberllechau Road, Wattstown, into a 12-bedroom care home was approved by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT)’s planning committee on Thursday, October 24.

The planning report said that the Wattstown Hotel was listed for its special interest as a largely unaltered colliery community hotel of circa 1900.

Empty

The hotel is a three-storey rectangular building, plus basement, which was in a poor condition, having been empty and unused for a number of years and is now in a substantially worse condition due to a fire in July.

The submission was originally intended to provide 22 bedrooms but during the initial public consultation, concerns were raised about the scale of the accommodation being too great for the size of the building and that it would be considered an over-development.

Feedback from the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies, regarding the proposed internal layout and external alterations to the roof, suggested that this would be inappropriate given the building’s listed status so the scheme was changed and revised plans were received.

Shell

Since the revised details were submitted, the building was heavily damaged by a large fire so that only the external elevations remain but the agent confirmed that the applicant wanted to continue with the application and intended for the building to be reconstructed within the shell.

The planning report said that whilst the reconstruction works will be significant, the external changes to the form of the building are minor.

There were a total of three objections with reasons including the absence of parking provision for future residents and staff as well as contractors during construction, high existing demand for on-street parking from other residents and vehicles associated with the nearby builders’ merchants, highway dangers from speeding traffic and poor lighting, whether the development would result in the need for permit parking and that additional on-street parking could cause congestion and problems for emergency vehicles and bus access.

Councillor Julie Edwards, who represents Tylorstown and Ynyshir on the council, said it has been closed for many years and lying empty and she said that the building catching fire in July drew attention to why empty derelict buildings are a burden on communities.

Location

She said that while her personal view is that she doesn’t think the site location  is suitable for a care home or could accommodate the amount of beds and  staff, her job was to represent her local community so based on the information she gained through a street surgery she supported the application.

Councillor Robert Bevan, who also represents Tylorstown and Ynyshir, said it was difficult to see how a nursing home could function on this constrained site with very limited opportunity to park other than on Aberllechau Road.

He said he saw problems in servicing the building in terms of deliveries and ambulances.

Councillor Sharon Rees, chair of the committee, had her doubts about whether a 12-bed care home would be viable but that wasn’t a matter for planning committee.

Councillor Ross Williams said if it was left as it is it would only deteriorate and that he’d rather see the application go ahead and something be done with the site than have it in rack and ruin.

Councillor Wendy Lewis said it was in an unusual location but liked the layout of the rooms.

Councillor Loretta Tomkinson said she’d rather see the building be renovated and get used and that CIW (Care Inspectorate Wales) will have to decide if it’s suitable.

Improvement 

In recommending approval, planning officers said: “As a residential use, the proposed care home would be unlikely to have a detrimental impact upon the amenity of the nearest neighbouring properties.

“Furthermore, the beneficial re-use of the building would represent a significant improvement to the appearance of the site and therefore, given its prominent location, the wider street scene.

“The concerns relating to the adjacent highway network and the limited parking availability are noted and such constraints are comparable to other developments considered previously by members, where a large unused building, from a different era, is proposed to be put to a new use.

“However, in the planning balance and given the lawful existing planning use, greater weight is given to the need for a sympathetic redevelopment of the site.”