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Plans to demolish the oldest building in Trethomas to make way for flats have been approved by councillors.

Plans to build a 25-unit, three-storey block of flats – which would accommodate people over the age of 55 – were approved by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Planning Committee.

The flats, which will be developed and managed by Caerphilly-based United Welsh housing association, will be built on the site of the Ty yn y Pwll pub on Newport Road.

The plans were backed in a remote Planning Committee meeting held on Wednesday (January 20).

Council planning officers had already backed the plans for approval.

Concerns were raised by Councillor Derek Harvard, who represents the Bedwas, Trethomas, Machen ward.

Cllr Harvard told the meeting that residents don’t want the proposals, and said: “This is a very unpopular development and I appreciate straight away that ‘unpopular’ is not a planning consideration.”

He raised concerns about parking and congestion, as well the shape of the proposed building.

Cllr Harvard said: “The building itself is going to dominate the whole area and it’s going to change the shape of the area.

“It’s the only flat-roofed building in the area and it looks as if it shouldn’t be there – this is why it’s unpopular with people.”

However, Jon Hurley, director of Asbri Planning, which is behind the plans, said the proposals are an “opportunity to bring back into use this prominent site.”

He also said the plans were in a “highly sustainable location” and “will go some way to meeting the affordable housing need in Caerphilly”.

Mr Hurley also said the plans include space on the ground floor for a “community hub”.

Planning Committee member Cllr James Fussell said: “It would be good, rather than seeing a sterile rooftop, that there might be some greening to be brought into that site because it is a bit of a square block which could do with some tarting up”.

The Ty yn y Pwll, known locally as the ‘Pyke’, used to be the toll house where tolls were charged for the use of the road between Caerphilly and Newport.

In 2016, the council’s planning committee approved an application from Pontcanna Development Ltd to demolish the pub to make way for a 32-bed care home.

A previous plan to turn the disused pub into a community centre collapsed after the charity behind the scheme could not secure funding.

Connections Community Hub (CCH) agreed to purchase the building in 2014 and had plans to transform it into a café with a difference – a multi-functional hub for the whole community to use, access services and develop ideas.