Controversial plans for an extra 46 homes on the site of a former school are set to be deferred by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee.
Work has already begun on the former Bedwellty Comprehensive School site, in Aberbargoed, for 55 homes – which was approved by the council in 2019.
Now the developer, Llanmoor Developments, hopes to add an additional 46 homes – bringing the total to 101.
Despite concerns raised by residents and the education department, council planners have recommended that the application is deferred until a section 106 agreement is agreed, and then the application would be approved.
The developer is required to enter a section 106 agreement totalling £19,500 because the site includes woodland that will need to be managed.
A report on the recommendation for the planning application says the development would make “a significant contribution to the council’s housing delivery shortfall”.
15% of homes – six flats and one bungalow – would be transferred to Caerphilly Homes and would provide affordable housing.
The rest of the 46 homes would be a mix of semi-detached and detached properties ranging from one bedroom to four bedrooms. The scheme includes a formal public open space and parking arrangements.
However, the report says that the education department at the council has raised concerns over primary school allocations.
It says: “It is acknowledged that the education department indicate that the capacity at the catchment English medium primary school could not accommodate the committed development within the catchment area.
“They state that if both of these were to go forward there would not be room in the school to take the additional pupils that could come from these.”
The council also received 16 objections from residents.
Concerns were raised over the potential loss of green space and an increase in traffic, as well as access – which will be off Pengam Road.
The application will be considered by the council’s planning committee on Wednesday (September 16).
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That area where Bedwellty School was built on was land donated many years ago to the council to have a school built on and I’ve also been told that in the will of the person who left the land to them there were also some conditions attached to them having the land and what I’ve been led to believe is that the land is only to be used in development for reasons to do with children like a school, leisure centre or something else children would benefit from especially these days where the local authority doesn’t spend any money on youth centres for them but are quite happy to waste money on a stupid daffodil sculpture that is hidden away in a corner of a car park and on a clock and benchs at a bus stop in Aberbargoed that already had perfectly good benchs which proves they would rather waste money than invest it in a youth club which could then also be used to deliver important information to the local children through the youth club they should ask the local people what they’re yearly budget from Westminster is spent on so they dont keep wasting tens of thousands of pounds every year so i will be doing my damn hardest to find out if this is ture but i really hope it isn’t because it will be disgusting if it does turn out to be true