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A former pub in Cefn Hengoed can be converted into new homes, council planners have agreed.

Their decision paves the way for applicant Rouble Mann to redevelop the Cross Keys Inn, on Gelligaer Road, into a mixture of one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The application drew three public objections, as well as concerns from Gelligaer Community Council – but planning officers at Caerphilly County Borough Council judged the redevelopment wouldn’t have any “detrimental impact” on neighbours or road safety.

If completed, the project will add nine new apartments to the building, and a rear area will also be extended to create more space on the site.

Plans submitted to the local authority show the building’s ground floor will contain three flats, with another four on the first floor, and two more on the second floor.

Each apartment will be “self-contained and equipped with its own kitchen, dining and living space; and bathroom”, the council planners noted in their report.

During a public consultation on the proposals, critics raised concerns the development could be “excessive” and “place unnecessary strain on local infrastructure”.

They also questioned the amount of parking provided, as well as concerns about noise during and after construction.

In response, the local authority’s planners said the outside of the “substantial” existing building would remain “largely unchanged”, and said the proposed number of homes was “not significant” and “will not result in any undue pressure to the wider community”.

The development will include one off-street parking space for each new home, and the proposed reuse of the building for accommodation would be “far less intensive than the number of vehicle movements than a public house could generate”.

The planners accepted construction could cause “some disruption” but said this would be limited, and again said the previous use of the building as a pub would have also had “opportunities to generate noise”.

They also said the council’s own research had found a need for one-bedroom accommodation in the Hengoed and Ystrad Mynach area.