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Residents across Caerphilly are deeply concerned that a full planning application has now been submitted to demolish the existing farm buildings at Nant y Calch Farm, Warren Drive, and replace them with a 100% affordable housing development and new access road.

While we recognise the urgent need for genuinely affordable homes, this proposal raises serious environmental, planning and financial questions that deserve proper public scrutiny before any decision is made.

First and foremost, this is a countryside site outside the defined settlement boundary. It sits in an elevated position above existing single-storey homes at the urban fringe. The introduction of large, multi-storey properties in this sensitive location would be visually incongruous and fundamentally out of character with the rural edge of Caerphilly.

Planning inspectors have previously recognised the importance of protecting this landscape setting and have determined that development in this location would represent a wholly unacceptable encroachment into an otherwise rural environment rich with biodiversity.

This point is firmly supported by comments specifically made by planning inspectors in 2001 which were directly referenced by Caerphilly County Borough Council in 2009 when making a case against the farm being released for development previously: “…in my judgement the environmental case against the release of …this site for development is overwhelming”. (CCBC, 2009 p.361)

Approving this scheme risks setting a dangerous precedent for further speculative development in open countryside.

Secondly, the ecological implications are significant. Surveys have identified multiple species of bats on site, including greater horseshoe bats, one of the most protected species in Europe. Dormouse surveys are still ongoing. These are European Protected Species, and under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations strict legal tests must be met before development can proceed. Crucially, one of those tests requires proof that there are no satisfactory alternative sites.

To date, no transparent viability assessment has been published demonstrating why available brownfield land within Caerphilly could not deliver the same housing objectives. Sites such as previously developed land within the town centre and other regeneration areas should be fully assessed before countryside habitat is sacrificed. If alternatives exist, the legal test cannot be satisfied. That is not an emotional argument – it is a statutory requirement.

There are also unresolved environmental safety concerns. Natural Resources Wales has confirmed that further work is required in relation to land contamination and potential impacts on nearby watercourses, including Nant y Calch and Porset Brook. The applicant’s own technical reports recommend additional investigation before a full remediation strategy can be finalised. Given the proximity of homes and local water systems, this is not a minor issue.

Highway impacts remain another area of uncertainty. Warren Drive is not a strategic route, and the movement of construction traffic, including potentially contaminated material, through residential streets raises understandable concerns. Claims about improved access to the former tar plant site must also be treated cautiously, given that an existing access point already serves that land.

Finally, there is a financial and governance question that cannot be ignored: the land is privately owned. Once planning permission is granted, its value could increase significantly. At a time of financial constraint, serious consideration should be given to whether public funds are best directed towards acquiring greenfield land – or whether council-owned brownfield sites offer a more responsible and sustainable value for money solution.

This is not opposition for the sake of it. It is a call for proper process, lawful decision-making, and transparent comparison of alternatives. Affordable housing and environmental protection should not be presented as mutually exclusive. Caerphilly can deliver homes while safeguarding its countryside – but only if decisions are evidence-led and legally robust.

Before irreversible damage is done, residents are simply asking the council to pause, review the alternatives properly, and ensure that all environmental protections are fully satisfied. Once countryside is lost, it cannot be replaced.

We have until March 13 to object to approval being given for this application. We are inviting the whole Caerphilly community to come to the Twyn Community Centre anytime between 9am and 4pm on Saturday March 7 to discuss their concerns and to sign a letter of objection if they do not want the council to let this application go ahead.