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A housing association may have to provide residents with a mini bus service if it wants to build homes on the former Caerphilly police station site.

Linc Cymru, based in Cardiff, has proposed a 100% affordable housing development on Mountain Road – next to the old Magistrate’s Court, where the housing association is also building 38 energy efficient homes.

Twelve out of the 45 proposed homes will be accessible one-bedroom apartments for those needing on-site care and support. These residents will be receiving integrated care provided by the local authority and the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

The integrated care apartments could also benefit from an additional communal lounge and kitchen area, as well as a third floor roof terrace.

A bedsit is also proposed for the staff who will be providing the on-site care to residents.

The remaining 33 homes include, eight two-bedroom apartments and 25 one-bedroom apartments. These and the integrated care apartments will be split between two buildings; one five-storey block with 39 homes and one three-storey block with six homes.

The proposals also include 33 car parking spaces including four disabled spaces, and a bike store.

The police station closed in 2016 and was demolished the same year after a private landowner purchased the site. An application for 43 luxury retirement apartments was refused by the council, the site was then sold to Linc Cymru in October 2019.

At the meeting being held on Wednesday, March 9, planning committee members are expected to defer the decision on the development in order to put a Section 106 agreement in place.

A Section 106 agreement is a legally binding contract between a developer and the Local Planning Authority (LPA), which in this case is the council.

The council is asking Linc Cymru to contribute £15,600 towards improving transport in the area for elderly residents – including a three-day mini bus service.

Caerphilly Town Council – different to Caerphilly County Borough Council – has objected to the application and raised concerns about traffic, over-development of the site, and the visual impact of the buildings.

The report that will be presented to the committee on Wednesday evening states that due to the ‘highly sustainable location of the site’ – meaning it is near to Caerphilly interchange and the town centre – a higher level of housing density is acceptable.

The report adds that no impacts on amenity or highways were identified.

Neighbouring residents have also objected to the application, citing a potential increase in carbon emissions and a strain on local amenities as their main concerns.

The Air Quality Assessment states that the increase in traffic generated
by the proposed residential development would have an insignificant effect on local air quality.

The council has confirmed that there is adequate space in the local schools, and the report adds “the proposed development will help support local shops and public transport, improving their viability”.

The council’s Housing Enabling Officer advised that if approved, the residential development should be included in the council’s 2021/22 Programme Development Plan to benefit from Welsh Government grant funding.