Plans submitted to change former pub into short stay accommodation

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

A paramedic and business owner hopes to help combat homelessness in Bridgend by turning a former pub into short stay accommodation.

Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) has received an application to turn the former Taffy’s Tavern on Park Street in Bridgend into short stay living accommodation.

The proposed development would include accessible accommodation with four bedrooms on the ground floor, and six bedrooms and an office on the first floor.

If approved, the aim of the development would be to combat an increase in homelessness seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a business plan, applicant Richard Hopkins wrote that typical customers will be “anyone who requires a roof over their head for a short-term period”.

Mr Hopkins, the director of a property maintenance business called Red Property Development and Maintenance Ltd, added in the business plan that customers will be from the Bridgend area.

Requests for help

He wrote: “More than 700 people have been given temporary accommodation in Bridgend county borough since March.

“It follows an increase of almost 25% in the number of people going to the local authority to request help with housing compared to the same period last year.”

Mr Hopkins also works for the Welsh Ambulance Service as an emergency medical technician paramedic.

On the running of the site, the business plan states there would be a member of staff on site with one bedroom being the manager’s room and an office.

Mr Hopkins wrote: “This means they would manage the day-to-day running of the site with backup from myself and my partner.”

Staff from Mr Hopkins’ property maintenance company would also be able to assist.

The proposed site has been occupied by a number of different bars, like the Wicked Lady and The Angel, and was also a fish and chip shop at one point.