New homes plan for former girls’ school approved
THE Aberdare Girls’ School will be transformed into flats after planning permission was granted for the 1913 building, despite neighbours’ opposition.
Aberdare Developments Ltd have been given the green light for proposals to build 44 homes on the 2.87-acre site – including 26 apartments for the over-50s, 16 bungalows and two houses – in a project which would bring the old building back into use.
Now empty, the school – once the Aberdare Girls’ Grammar School – shut in 2014 with the closure of Aberdare Girls’ Comprehensive, and was sold at auction by Rhondda Cynon Taf council in July 2015.
Rob Bailey, founder of Swallow Hill Homes which part-owns Aberdare Developments Ltd, said building work is likely to begin in January 2017 now that planning permission has been gained.
The empty Aberdare Girls’ Grammar School building could be turned into 44 new homes
He said: “The council- lors were very supportive of the scheme, and it was passed.
“I always thought that our scheme was the right scheme for the building. It needs a lot of investment there, and a housing development is the only realistic way of getting that money back.”
Seven letters of objection had been received by the council over the plans, which had been recommended for approval by the council’s service director for planning.
Among the objections were a perceived loss of amenity to surrounding properties, and that local people would have to put up with 12 months of construction and additional street lighting near their properties on a permanent basis.
They also say a historical covenant – which is believed to say that the building should be used for educational purposes, should be respected.
However, the planning committee’s decision did not consider the covenant. The service director for planning had described it as “a separate legal matter” in a report before Thursday’s meeting.