Councillors refuse plans to turn hotel into a care home
COUNCILLORS have confirmed their refusal for plans to turn a former hotel in the Rhondda into a care home.
The plans to turn the former Diamond Jubilee Hotel on East Road in Tylorstown into a care home went back before Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s planning committee on Thursday after the committee had previously voted against the plans in March against the advice of officers.
Their reasons included concerns about overdevelopment, the amenity of future residents and issues relating to traffic, parking and access arrangements.
The decision was then deferred back to the planning committee meeting on Thursday for a further report to highlight the potential strengths and weaknesses of going against the officers’ recommendation and committee once again voted against the plans.
The planning report put forward the suggested reasoning for refusal as: “The proposed development is unable to demonstrate provision of adequate off-street parking facilities for residents, staff and visitors commensurate with the scale and intensity of its use.
“Consequently, the creation of demand for on-street parking in the vicinity of the site would be harmful to highway safety, the free flow of traffic and the amenity of neighbouring occupiers.
“Furthermore, the proposed accommodation would either be in close proximity to a busy highway or suffer from poor outlook, which together with limited facilities and external space, would create a poor quality living environment to the detriment of future residents of the proposed care home.
“The development would therefore be contrary to Policies AW5 and AW6 of the Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan and the council’s SPG (supplementary planning guidance) for both access, circulation and parking requirements, and design and placemaking.”
The planning report said the building has been empty for a considerable period of time but that as well as its main past use as a hotel, it also had a bar, restaurant and food takeaway.
The plan is for 20 single bedrooms and five double bedrooms to house a maximum of 30 people in need of care.
Three letters of objection were received and a request was made by the local councillors at the time that the committee considers issues like lack of car parking for visitors, such as health and social care workers, that the site is on a busy roundabout which will make deliveries difficult, that there is no disabled facilities or access, that the C2 classification covers more than just care facilities, how refuse and recycling would be collected and the fact that there’s no outdoor amenity space available.
The public objections include concerns over the provision of parking with fears the addition of cars for staff and visitors will add to the already limited parking available to residents.
The objectors say there are currently only just enough (and occasionally not) enough parking spaces in the car park outside the Jubilee Hotel.
They say parking is already limited for the residents who live on Penrhys Road and Pleasant View.
They also mention the fact that it’s for a C2 residential care home which they say brings to mind an old people’s home but in the extra documentation it is also referenced to as a C2 special-needs residential hostel and that it also mentions severely disabled persons of varying ages and those with special needs related to mental health or learning difficulties.