The Planning Committee of Caerphilly Council met on 11 December 2024. The report pack for the meeting included a proposal to redevelop a site in Rhymney to provide 29 homes, most of which would be affordable housing, and a children’s home.

Application 23/0585/FULL Land At Buchan Building And Whitbread Enterprise Centre Rhymney Walk Rhymney NP22 5DY

The most significant item included in the reports pack for the meeting was an application for planning permission. The applicant, Linc-Cymru Housing Association, is requesting permission to demolish, restore and redevelop buildings on a site on the corner of Tre-York Street and The Terrace. The site is currently occupied by the Buchan Building and the Whitbread Enterprise Centre, both of which are in a state of disrepair. The Buchan Building is a two-storey building that was built in 1913 as offices for the Rhymney Iron Company, while the Whitbread Enterprise Centre is a three-storey building thought to date back to the early 19th Century.

The proposed development would see the demolition of the Whitbread Enterprise Centre, the refurbishment of the Buchan Building to accommodate 10 one-bedroom apartments, and the construction of a new children's home and 26 new homes in a mix of sizes. The children’s home would have five bedrooms for children, an emergency bedroom, and two bedrooms for support staff. The rest of the development would be made up of 12 two-bedroom homes, one four-bedroom house, four one-bedroom walk-up flats and two one-bedroom walk-up flats that would be used as “move on” accommodation for children leaving the care of the children’s home.

The reports pack includes a large number of technical documents relating to the application. These documents show that the principle of residential use for the site has been previously established, that bat mitigation measures would be needed, and that the Council’s ecologist believes that the development “will deliver a net biodiversity benefit on site.”

The application has been the subject of a large number of objections from the public. 198 letters of objection and a petition containing 738 signatures were received. Many of these objections relate to the loss of the Whitbread Enterprise Centre and the Buchan Building. One objector argues that the redevelopment of the site:

...will permanently remove any scope for the site to become a visitor and tourist destination offering health and well-being.

Other objectors are concerned about the inclusion of a children’s home in the development. One objector argued that “the site is not an appropriate location to provide a children’s home,” and another argued that the development “will attract young offenders.” Objections were also received about the impact of the development on traffic, and the loss of a gym that previously operated from the Buchan Building.

The reports pack contains a response to each of the objections made. In response to the objections to the children’s home, officers write that “the application site is considered to be a suitable site for the proposed uses,” and that “[t]here is no evidence to support” the view that a children’s home would attract young offenders.

Planning officers are recommending that the application be approved subject to the completion of a Section 106 Agreement to secure 10% affordable housing provision and a financial contribution towards the provision of play facilities at Rhymney War Memorial Park.

It should be noted that the reports pack only tells us what was scheduled to be discussed at the meeting. It does not tell us anything about what was actually said at the meeting, or what, if any, decision was made.