Gardeners rally against demolition plan for shop
GREEN- F I N G E R E D growers in Porthcawl are appalled by plans to demolish their longstanding gardening supplies shop and storage facility.
Landlord Valleys to Coast Housing Association (V2C) has submitted a planning application to knock down the existing buildings in Heol y Goedwig in Porthcawl and build a community centre.
It is intended to be a replacement for the Woodland Scout Hall a few hundred yards away, which V2C intends to demolish so it can build houses on that site.
But Porthcawl Horticultural Society, which runs the Heol y Goedwig shop and stores, is opposing the plan even though V2C said their amenity will be incorporated in the new community centre.
PHS is being backed by members of the Bridgend and District Allotment Association, which also use the facility.
Speaking at a protest meeting at the site on Wednesday, November 23, PHS treasurer and stores manager Frank Fulgoni said they had always believed Bridgend council owned the site until V2C wrote to them on April 1.
In the letter V2C said “it had come to light” that they owned the site and had owned it since 2003 – when Bridgend council transferred council housing and land to them – and now they wished to put right what they termed as a “tenancy error”.
PHS subsequently signed a year-long lease and paid £100 rent.
But Frank said they only discovered V2C’s intentions for the site after someone spotted that a planning application had been submitted.
He criticised V2C for not formally telling them and added: “We want to stay. We are more determined than ever now.”
In its application to Bridgend council V2C states that the PHS facilities will be incorporated into the new community hall.
But PHS said this is impractical as they store and use powerful chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
They also believe it’s the wrong spot for a new community centre as there is no off-street parking and they want the shop and storage shed to remain as they are.
A spokeswoman for V2C said: “V2C has recently submitted a planning application to provide ten new, much needed homes in the Porthcawl area.
“As part of this development we are exploring the possibility of relocating the existing Scouts Hall currently on the site into a new, purpose built community facility.
“We are at a very early stage in the process and should BCBC planning department look favourably on the proposed location, then V2C will certainly work closely with existing community groups to explore potential solutions.
“V2C is in contact with members of the Horticultural Society and we are waiting on a revised date to meet with members to discuss our plans in more detail.”