New flats planned for ‘scrubby’ riverside land

Plans for 14 new one-bedroom flats in Newport have won the approval of the city council’s planning committee.

Housing association Tai Hedyn wants to build the new homes off Corporation Road, on part of the former Robert Price Transport Yard.

It will complement a previously-agreed phase of development comprising 61 homes on the wider site, case officer Geraint Roberts told the council’s planning committee on Wednesday August 5.

Originally, a coffee shop had been proposed but there had been no takers for the venture, prompting the developers to instead pursue a residential use, he explained.

Each home will be self-contained and have a balcony, and there will be step-free access to the building.

The site, which has become “increasingly scrubby” in recent years, will also have to be raised if the new homes are to be free from flood risk.

Mr Roberts said raising the site was expected to protect it from even severe flooding from the nearby River Usk.

He added officers had also considered noise problems for future residents, but concluded “the benefits of having a balcony significantly outweigh the harm from external noise when you’re sitting on that balcony”.

Members of the committee were generally supportive of the plans, although Cllr Mark Howells suggested the four-storey building could be “over-prominent”.

Cllr Matthew Pimm added the development was “much-needed”.

In a supporting statement, the applicant’s agents, LRM Planning, said the project “delivers 14 high-quality one-bedroom apartments in a contemporary four-storey block” close to the city centre and other services.

“The design incorporates generous landscaping, appropriate parking provision, and secure cycle and bin storage, while also enhancing the visual amenity of the area and supporting biodiversity,” the agents added.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the application, subject to the developer signing a deal to provide or fund recreational facilities in the neighbourhood.