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A power company can change plans for specialist equipment in Llanfabon, councillors have decided.

The installation, next to an existing substation, helps the Welsh Power Group regulate the stability of energy to the wider grid.

Originally approved in December 2023, the plans met stiff resistance from nearby residents, including 170 who signed a petition against the site’s further expansion.

Now, the applicant has proposed changes to the original plans, including relocating a transformer, fewer parking spaces, and different landscaping.

An acoustic barrier would be enlarged from 3.5 metres to 4.5 metres in height, and the main transformers would be enclosed.

The new proposals drew four objections from nearby residents but those concerns – around visual impact, noise and property devaluation – were not enough to persuade officers to recommend refusing planning permission.

Speaking at a Caerphilly County Borough Council planning committee meeting, case officer Anthony Pyne said the nearest residential properties were more than 100 metres away from the site.

He added there was no increase in the overall footprint of the site, and there were no material planning changes since the initial application was approved.

Members of the committee voted in favour of granting planning permission, subject to conditions.