Social housing project sparks claims of ‘alarming’ north/south divide

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Councillors are alleging a north/south divide, as the northern parts of their county borough are given a disproportionate amount of social housing projects.

Councillors in Caerphilly have alleged northern parts of the county borough are given a disproportionate amount of social housing projects.

Members of the Council’s planning committee have heard how “anywhere above Bargoed” struggles to attract new investment in market housing.

Concerns

Their concerns were raised amid discussions of a proposed development in Rhymney which drew the ire of hundreds in the community.

There, the property known locally as the Buchan Building could be converted into flats, and the nearby Whitbread Enterprise Centre could be demolished to make way for more housing.

A children’s home could also be built on the site, as part of the proposals by housing association Linc Cymru, which went before the planning committee this week.

Owen Francis, a planning agent for the applicant, said the plans had been subjected to “over two years of detailed scrutiny”, including consultation events in Rhymney.

He called the proposed development site a “sustainable and highly accessible location” and said the regeneration plans would bring “positive benefits” of affordable housing to the area.

The new housing, if built, “directly meets a long-term unmet need for this provision locally,” he argued.

The committee also heard from Alison Jones, a Rhymney resident speaking on behalf of community members opposed to the application.

She alleged the council’s responses to those objections were not based on any data.

Changing the use of the Buchan Building – which has been used recently as a gym – “deprives the community of all the potential it holds”, she claimed, adding that the “long-term outlook for Rhymney is one of continued and deepening deprivation”.

To applause from the public gallery, she said the “overarching purpose of sustainable development is one of protection, safeguarding the wellbeing of communities and their potential to thrive”.

Goalposts

Twyn Carno ward councillor Carl Cuss told the committee he “cannot support the application”.

He claimed the “goalposts have changed” during the planning process, and the application had changed from a mixed development to 100% social housing.

Cllr Cuss suggested the north of the borough seemed to be treated differently.

“I feel the council is being weak on this issue”, he told the committee, adding that it had “triggered a lot of angry residents”.

Committee member Cllr Mansel Powell commented Rhymney “is having a lot of HMOs and a lot of social housing”.

He said residents would feel “let down” because the project had previously been considered a mix of social and market-rent homes.

Fellow committee member Cllr Nigel Dix also said more should have been done to create a “prosperous area” in the Rhymney Valley.

Carwyn Powell, the council’s team leader development manager, said there was “no empirical evidence to prove that social housing causes these problems”, referring to concerns about its impact on the surrounding area.

Profit

But he accepted there was “less profit” for housebuilders in areas where property prices are lower – “therefore they would not be wanting to build market housing, because they don’t make enough money from it”.

Cllr Mansel Powell said that was “alarming” for local councillors who feared their communities were “going to become all social housing”.

Cllr Roy Saralis, chairing the meeting, also warned colleagues the committee was meant to consider matters on planning merits rather than political views.

The committee voted 9-2 in favour of the officers’ recommendations to grant planning permission, with two members abstaining.

But the meeting heard the Welsh Government may yet decide to call in the application and take responsibility for a final decision