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An attempt to once again change the type of flats included in a planned three-storey block in Pontymister has been blasted as “a disgrace” by a ward councillor.
Plans for 18 one-bedroomed flats at the site of a former petrol station in Newport Road were approved in December 2019 by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Planning officers and councillors backed the plans, but only after the scheme was changed from 12 one-bedroomed flats and six two-bedroomed flats.
The scheme was revised to one-bedroomed flats to meet car parking requirements, with 22 parking spaces included in the plans.
But Caerphilly planners have now recommended approval of another change to the scheme, after developers proposed to change the mix of apartments to 14 one-bedroom flats and four two-bedroom flats.
Ward councillor Bob Owen said he has raised questions over concerns the changes will increase the need for car parking spaces.
“We are not going to meet our targets for social housing and this is a way of pulling in a block of social housing but with no regards to the local residents,” he said.
“I think it’s a disgrace.”
Cllr Owen said that residents have contacted him with concerns over the plans.
“I am taking these questions to the Ombudsman and audit because I think it’s a bit of a mickey-take in terms of what they are doing in that particular area,” he added.
The council’s highways department has objected to the revised plan with concerns over a lack of parking with 22 spaces still proposed.
But a planning report says developers have made “a robust argument to demonstrate that sufficient car parking is proposed” as part of the scheme and recommended approval.
The planning application says the site is in a “highly sustainable location” which will reduce the need for residents to own a car.
The proposed block of flats will be 11.6 metres in height, with the site already raised above the road by around 1.5m, making it significantly taller than any other building in the area.
However the revised plans propose that the building would be slightly smaller than in the application which was approved.
The proposed changes will be decided by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee at a meeting on Wednesday, January 20.
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