New police training centre gets green light
WORK on a new training and operations centre at South Wales Police headquarters in Bridgend is expected to start later this month after the local authority’s planning committee gave it the green light.
The four-storey police learning centre, a human resources building and a two-storey gym in Cowbridge Road would see an additional 650 people on site every day.
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for South Wales Police, who submitted the plans, said the development would provide the police with their own in-house onsite training and recruitment centre, saving them having to rent accommodation and conference suites elsewhere.
The centre involves 22 training classrooms and office space for around 200 desks for internal departments across the force.
It includes provision for an assessments and standards unit, an operations training unit, investigative training, and “policing through technology” facilities.
It would also accommodate an office for the PCC and breakout spaces, while a separate building would house a gym.
There would be 340 new parking spaces and cycle parking for 115 bikes.
It is expected that the centre would become fully operational in 2021.
Approval for the application rests with full council, which was due to meet yesterday, as the plans are a departure from the local development plan (LDP).
Under the LDP the site is allocated for 138 homes and while this allocation is expected to be removed from the plan under an upcoming review, the existing plan is in place for development control purposes until 2021.
In a report which went before Bridgend County Borough Council’s development control committee on Thursday, September 12, planning officers said investment in the site should be welcomed as it ensured “a highly-prestigious new headquarters facility” would be retained within Bridgend, maintaining and creating highly-skilled employment opportunities.
During the meeting councillors raised concerns over increased traffic coming out of the centre.
Councillor Amanda Williams said there were already near-misses due to the timings of two different sets of traffic light signals in Cowbridge Road.
She said: “Cars coming out of the the police HQ have a green light so they can turn right or go straight on, at the same time as the traffic lights go green coming out of Tesco where you can go left or right – both have right of way.”
Councillor Carolyn Webster warned junctions in the area were already at high capacity, with queuing traffic along York Road as cars come out of the nearby industrial estate.
Planning officers said there would be no additional traffic coming out on to Cowbridge Road as a result of the new centre but said the traffic signal sequences could be looked at under junction improvement plans.
New access arrangements for the centre are included in the proposals, with plans for an improved rear access which forms a junction with Chepstow Road and the Kingsway roundabout.
Officers said all the students, HR officers and visitors using the new facilities would be directed to the rear access.
Other highway improvement works include the provision of a pedestrian refuge in Chepstow Road and a footway connection to the site.
Planning officers said the new investment would enable land at Waterton Cross to be released by South Wales Police earlier than anticipated, making way for the Parc Afon Ewenni development that was first unveiled in 2011 and involves 650 new homes as well as shops and businesses.
As part of the planning approval, the applicant will have to pay £9,500 to fund Traffic Regulation Orders, roadmarkings and signage around the site.
Assuming full council ratifies the planning committee’s decision, the communities director will then be given delegated powers to issue consent subject to conditions being met.