Plan for urban village promises 900 homes
PLANS for a new urban village near Pontypool, which eventually could see 900 new homes, has secured outline planning consent.
The scheme, from developer Johnsey Estates, is on the former ParkeDavis site, next to Mamhilad Park Estate, which is home to around 1,700 staff working in both the public and private sectors.
Outline consent for the Mamhilad Urban Village scheme, on the nowcleared brownfield site, has been approved by Torfaen County Borough Council. The scheme now requires detailed planning consent, before work can commence. It is expected to take 10 years to build 900 homes.
The Welsh Government is looking for developments to have better public transport provision, as well as investment in active travel.
In its post-Covid planning vision, Building Better Places, published last week, it says: “A strategic role for the planning system is to direct growth to sustainable locations and prevent the creation of car-dependent developments. This is a key principle in Planning Policy Wales (10) and is supported by the sustainable transport hierarchy, which prioritises walking, cycling and public transport ahead of private motor vehicles.”
Johnsey Estates said that bus services will be increased to serve the urban village scheme. The nearest train station, Pontypool and New Inn, is around two miles away. It said the development will also include a series of open spaces linked by tree-lined streets to create walking and cycling routes connecting with the Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal.
A spokesman for the company said: “Mamhilad Urban Village has been planned as a sustainable settlement with its own school, crèche, shop, restaurant, gyms, community centre, playing field, open space and other community facilities. In addition to the new housing, the site is already a major focus of employment.
“New bus services, cycle lanes and footpath improvements are requisite elements of the scheme which will be controlled by a legal agreement. In addition, the legal agreement will include a contribution to upgrading Pontypool and New Inn Station.”
Johnsey Estates said that hundreds of jobs would be created in the construction phase of the multi-millionpound scheme.
Located on the A4042 between the M4 motorway and Abergavenny, it will include approximately 47 acres of residential development, including a range of family homes and a “significant percentage” of affordable homes.
Andrew Wilkinson, chairman of Johnsey Estates, said: “This isn’t simply a straightforward housing development, it is an imaginative regeneration project which will see the creation of an urban village.”