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Construction work on a new apartment block on the site of the former 49 Club in Trecenydd has been completed.

The building, which contains six council-owned one-bedroom flats, has been built as part of a new Caerphilly County Borough Council housing programme.

They are the first homes to have been built by the council in nearly two decades.

The 49 Club, on the Crescent, closed in 2009 and caught fire the same year.

The council said the apartments were built to Passivhaus standard – meaning they have ‘very high’ levels of insulation, ‘airtight’ building fabric and and a mechanical heat ventilation system, as well as lower carbon emissions.

The authority says the flats have been designed in a way which will lower energy costs for tenants.

The council teamed up with contractors Willmott Dixon to build the flats, while Penallta-based Caledan Ltd supplied the steel frames used in the construction.

The scheme, which will also see 12 one-bedroom flats built to Passivhaus standard on Llanfabon Drive, Trethomas, was awarded £3.1m through the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Programme.

Cllr Shayne Cook, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, described the project as a “huge milestone” for the council’s “ambitious” house building programme.

He said: “The quality of these new homes is exceptional and their innovative design will make sure fuel bills for future tenants will be kept to a minimum, which is crucial amidst rising energy costs and the current cost of living crisis.”

Cllr Cook also said the council aims to use the project as a “blueprint for future developments”.

Ian Jones, Director at Willmott Dixon said: “The innovative manufacturing techniques that have been used have enabled us to deliver low-energy, state of the art homes to the borough which will help to tackle fuel poverty and provide high quality homes for the tenants.”