Bigger flats block approved for ‘flagship’ housing development

A major housing development has gone back before Caerphilly Council’s planning committee because of a redesign.

Planning permission has already been granted for 82 homes on the former Oakdale Comprehensive School site.

Now, the applicant Caerphilly Homes wants to reconfigure the layout of the proposed development to allow for a larger block of flats than previously agreed, planning officer Helen Winsall told the committee on Wednesday March 8.

Committee member Brenda Miles asked whether the larger block would mean more flats were built on the site.

Ms Winsall said the outline planning permission agreement was for a maximum of 99 dwellings.

A reserved matters application was approved in October 2023 for 82 homes, the majority of which (44) will be classed as affordable housing.

Ms Winsall said a new reserved matters application would have to be submitted to accommodate for the change in the original plans.

The block of flats in question would now be 70 metres long, instead of the original 48 metres.

It will also be 13 metres wider and 1.5 metres higher than the original proposal.

The Oakdale Comprehensive site was heralded as a “flagship” project when it was agreed last autumn.

Shayne Cook, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said the new homes would have “innovative design features to ensure energy costs are kept to a minimum for residents, while also reducing carbon emissions”.

Outline planning permission for the larger block of flats was granted unanimously by the council committee.