Refurbishment works are due to begin on a derelict hotel next month, over a year since plans to convert the Grade II listed building were granted.
The former Oakdale Hotel, situated on the corner of Penrhiw Avenue and Central Avenue in Oakdale, will be converted into nine flats – four with single bedrooms and five two-bed – and three three-storey homes.
An outbuilding and flat-roofed extension will be demolished to make room for the three-bedroom homes, with a car park providing 12 spaces.
Proposals were passed by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee on February 10 last year, and work estimated to reach £1.7 million is due to begin in April.
The investment includes a contribution of just over £1m from Welsh Government’s Social Housing Grant fund.
The programme is being delivered via a partnership between the council, the Welsh Government, and Pobl Group. The homes will be managed by social landlord Charter Housing.
Work is slated for completion in autumn 2018, and the development forms part of a wider regeneration programme in Oakdale.
Historically, Oakdale was designed as a model village by the owners of the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company, and was built away from the mine.
The Oakdale Hotel was built so that directors of the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company would have somewhere suitable to stay near the colliery, and was used for entertaining visitors and hosting meetings of board members.
Shaun Couzens, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Chief Housing Officer, said: “Oakdale Hotel is an important and historic building, situated in a prominent location within the centre of the village. The building has been derelict for a number of years and had become a magnet for anti-social behaviour.
“We are very pleased to be working in partnership with Pobl to bring the building back into use, whilst at the same time providing much needed affordable housing for local people.”
Neil Taylor, Senior Project Manager at Pobl, added: “We are excited to be involved in the redevelopment of the former Oakdale Hotel; bringing a historically important building back into beneficial use.
“Pobl continues to work closely with council officers and the local community to bring high quality homes to the area, whilst creating a thriving community.”