The site of a former garage and bus depot could be the location of an all-new block of flats.
A planning application has been made to Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) to build 20 flats on Old Station Yard, Porthcawl. The car servicing and MOT testing garage, which is no longer in use, will be demolished to make way for the new apartments if the plans are approved.
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Valleys to Coast are working in partnership with Paramount Designs on the proposal. Ward councillor for Porthcawl Central East, Councilor Brian Jones, said he could only see the potential development as a positive.
"It is going to be affordable housing, so I do not have any objections," said Cllr Jones. "If they are affordable flats, they will house people from Porthcawl. This will add to the area. It would provide more chances for people to become independent."
A number of suggestions have already been put forward as potential conditions for the development. The Shared Regulatory Service (SRS) Environment Team has requested that a contamination and ground gas assessment of the site is made. A report from the SRS's Environment Team states the activities associated with the former use of the site "may have caused the land to become contaminated and therefore may give rise to potential risks to human health and the environment".
The report adds: "In addition, an historical landfill has been identified within 250m of the proposed development. Such sites are associated with the generation of landfill gases, within subsurface materials, which have the potential to migrate to other sites and give rise to potential risks for future occupants."
The conditions proposed to ensure the safety of potential future users of the site also includes a remediation and verification plan and the assessment of any "site won materials".
If approved, the block would contain 16 one-bed units and four two-bed units.
Corporate director of development and growth at Valleys to Coast, Darrin Davies, said: "The development of flats will provide essential new homes for those with housing need in an area of high demand. The Old Station Yard is a brownfield development site [and] bringing it back into use will support the Local Authorities wider Porthcawl Waterfront Regeneration Area plans.
"The scheme is part of our new homes programme and will add to our current stock of 309 homes in Porthcawl, supporting our Corporate Plan of providing c100 new homes each year over the duration of the plan. It follows on from the two new homes schemes on Woodland Avenue, Porthcawl."
The proposals will see the relocation of vehicle access into the site, with the development of a new priority T-junction with Old Station Road, according to the transport statement attached to the application. The development of a new vehicle access point would result in the loss of the existing on-street limited waiting parking spaces located directly south of the site along Old Station Road.
It proposes that these spaces be relocated along Old Station Road, opposite the Ross Computing and Betfred units. The informal parking area directly to the south west of the site will also be removed and replaced with a newly-landscaped pedestrian area if the application is approved.
The transport statement says: "This will bring potential highway safety improvements to Old Station Road, as the existing informal parking area is not controlled or designed to any specific highway design standards."
A maximum of 28 car parking spaces on the site would be required if the proposed development went ahead. The pre-application consultation for the proposed development closed on January 21.
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