The Bridgend Local Development Plan (LDP) has entered the latest phase on the way towards full adoption. Each local authority in Wales needs to plan out how their areas will be developed and Bridgend’s will set land use policy in the county until 2021.
The “Alternative Sites Consultation“ is now taking place. These sites are not proposed by the council but by landowners, developers etc who believe that land should be included in the final LDP or who disagree with the land allocations in the draft LDP published earlier this year. Comments on these alternative sites are due in by December 9th.
Some of the standout alternative sites:
Brewery Field – Bridgend Town Council want the Brewery Field allocated for a sheltered housing/extra care complex. Question marks remain about what will happen to the Brewery Field if/when the sports village at Island Farm is built, currently the draft LDP allocates it for bulky goods retail. There’s no sign that any development there would be viable in the current economic climate and the land was effectively left out of the recent Bridgend town centre masterplan.
Bocam Park, Pencoed – Redrow want land between Bocam Park and the railway line reallocated for housing and an extension to the business park.
Ty Draw Farm, Pyle – A mixed residential & strategic employment development near junction 37 of the M4.
Ewenny Road, Maesteg – Persimmon Homes want an enlarged local service centre at the site, increased allocation for housing and as they put it “more flexibility required with employment provision”. It’s good news that this site is being properly considered for development and long overdue.
Waunscil Avenue – Paddle Homes are currently appealing against the latest refusal to build houses on this former railway embankment and are (for the umpteenth time) trying to get this land allocated for residential. Bridgend Council initially included the land for housing in the draft LDP but this was changed to green wedge/open space.
Island Farm – Developers HD Limited are seeking to have the land south of the proposed science park included for mixed use development. Merthyr Mawr Community Council, Island Farm Campaign for Action and residents on Island Farm Road are seeking to keep it as a green wedge. It looks as though HD Ltd will have won this battle considering successfully avoiding the sports village scheme being called in by the Welsh Government. This might be the last chance opponents to the sports village have to stop it.
South Wales Police HQ – The land to the north west of the police HQ is currently allocated for residential, but Watersone Estates want it reallocated for food retail. With the new ASDA and a Tesco Extra across the road, it seems like an odd place personally. The only major supermarket chain without a presence in the town or county is Morrisons, so I’m going to make an educated guess that this might be targeted at them should the land be redesignated.
Angleton Lodge – Opposite Glanrhyd Hospital and north of Wildmill alongside the “Black Path” between Sarn and Bridgend. Proposals for a residential development and an upgrade to community sports facilities. There would be flooding concerns for obvious reasons to anyone familiar with this piece of land.
Wern Ddu, land south of Penyfai and land north of Cefn Glas – IGH Properties are seeking to develop retail at Wern Ddu (under the M4 Ogmore viaduct near Sarn), up to 150 homes south of Pen-y-fai and as many as – wait for it – 3,000 homes between the south Wales mainline and Cefn Glas, stretching from Tondu Road to Llangewydd Court Farm.
It mirrors a withdrawn proposal by “Keyworker Homes” a few years back. My personal opinion is that a development on this scale is 15-20 years too soon, with Parc Derwen and the Porthcawl regeneration area likely to be the main focus for housing development in Bridgend county over the course of the LDP. I doubt I would be the only person in Bridgend who’ll be shocked to see any of this happen.