From club to care
All change for former nightclub
A BOARDED-UP former nightclub in Llanelli is to be demolished and replaced by residential care flats.
The new three-storey block at the Raffles club site on Murray Street will be aimed at people with mobility issues, Carmarthenshire Council’s planning committee was told at a meeting on April 29.
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the application by Swanseabased Pass Property Development.
Introducing the proposal, a council planning officer said: “It’s regretted that the building has deteriorated into such a state.”
He said the replacement block, which will comprise 12 flats and an office, was considered acceptable in terms of its scale and design. It won’t have any parking, but there is a multi-storey car park close by lanelli Town Council and Llanelli and District Civic Society had commented in writing on the application and were keen to know what type of occupants there would be.
Elsewhere in Llanelli, new buildings are in the pipeline and others are being brought back to life.
In March a £3 million arcade project linking Market Street with East Gate – the occupants are expected to include gin and restaurant operator Juniper Place, and cocktail and restaurant brand Old Havana – was given the go-ahead.
Last December a major upgrade of the town’s former YMCA building, which will deliver commercial units, offices and flats, was approved.
And restoration of the town’s 145-year-old railway goods shed is finally under way after a decade of planning and fundraising.
It will be a hub for cultural, heritage, community and enterprise activities
At the planning meeting, Cllr Gareth Thomas proposed accepting the officers’ recommendation of approval for the Raffles building.
Cllr Thomas said: “It does look a very sorry state of affairs at the moment.”
Before the vote, members asked if there was a lift in the new block of flats and whether ‘undercroft’ (underground) parking had been considered.
Officers confirmed there would be a lift, but couldn’t shed any light on the undercroft parking query as it wasn’t part of the application.