Plans to demolish office complex to make way for six new homes

AN APPLICATION has been made to demolish an existing office complex to make way for six new homes.

The planning application that has been put to Bridgend County Council proposes to demolish offices – formerly the Resource Centre for Groundwork Trust – in Tondu to make way for six detached houses.

If approved, the 63 hectare site would be adjacent to the Grade

II-listed former Tondu Ironworks and near the site where 450 new homes are already being built.

A number of concerns were raised by members of Ynysawdre Community Council.

In a consultation response issued last year, a spokesperson for the community council said: “This is another threat to the quality of life for the residents of Tondu, not in keeping with the area and inappropriate housing for the use of this land. The environmental value of woodland and wildlife being sacrificed for nine executive homes is unreasonable and disproportionate to the impact on many other residents.

“It would have more community value if it were adding affordable homes with less footprint. This on top of the 430 homes now being developed.

“Tondu is been saturated with development destroying vast acres of valuable green spaces.”

The developer, Plan R Ltd has since agreed to reduce its original proposal of nine houses to six in order to protect existing trees.

A spokesperson for Plan R Ltd wrote to Bridgend County Borough Council to explain how it had revised its plans to bring the houses as far forward as possible, which is intended to avoid removing the trees that “help screen the new houses from the Scheduled Ancient Monument”.

In the original planning statement, the developers said that traffic from the new houses would not “significantly or adversely” impact highway movements in the area, pointing to the site’s former use as an office with car parking provision of 14 spaces.

No date has yet been given for a decision on the application, which was validated on February 23.