Homes planned for former police station site

Plans for 37 homes at the site of the former Caerphilly Police Station on Mountain Road have been lodged with Caerphilly County Borough Council.

The site is owned by housing association Linc Cymru, which has put forward plans to develop 34 apartments and three terrace houses on it.

Linc is also developing the neighbouring site – the former magistrates’ court – with 34 socially rented homes and four terrace houses.

The plans for the former police station site include a parking area in the basement of one of the buildings.

In total, 39 car parking spaces will be provided, including five disabled spaces.

Ten of the homes will be aimed at those requiring support of health and social care services.

The pre-application consultation report for the plans says: “This portion of the development will have its own dedicated entrance, communal lounge, kitchen and staff accommodation since it will be managed by the Integrated Care Fund (ICF), who will fund and support these units.

“For the avoidance of doubt, these units qualify as affordable housing, as defined by the Welsh Government.”

The apartment building on the site would be five storeys high and will benefit from the car park on the ground floor.

The site access is from Bronrhiw Fach and Mountain Road, to the south of Caerphilly town centre.

The site operated as a police station in conjunction with the neighbouring magistrates court until its closure in 2016 due to “underuse and increasing maintenance costs”.

It was bought by a private landowner in 2016, who demolished the original buildings that summer.

A planning application for 43 luxury retirement apartments, with 20 car parking spaces was refused by the council.

The site was then sold to Linc Cymru in October 2019.

A total of 39 members of the public attended a consultation earlier this year to have their say on the plans before they were submitted to the council.

The main concerns raised included the visual impact, the narrowness of the access road and loss of light in neighbouring properties as a result of the proposed development.

In the report, the response says: “There is no evidence suggesting the value of existing properties will be harmed as a result of the regeneration of the former Police Station site.”

A decision on the application will be made in the coming months.