THE site former infants school in Caerau that closed more than 10 years ago could be turned into a new housing complex.

Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) has received an application from Pendragon Ltd to build 22 affordable homes at the former Blaenllynfi Infant School off Grosvenor Terrace in Caerau.

The former infants school was demolished after it closed in 2009 due to Blaenllynfi Infant School and Blaencaerau Junior School amalgamating to form Caerau Primary School.

A design and access statement from planning consultants, Asbri Planning Ltd highlights that the initial plan to apply for the construction of 23 homes was deemed to be an “overdevelopment” of the site and the number of proposed homes was reduced to 22.

In conclusion, the design and access statement suggests that the development would “contribute towards the housing target” of BCBC and provide “much-needed affordable housing in Caerau”.

Asbri Planning said the proposal “comprises 100 [per cent] affordable housing and features a housing mix that ensures the scheme is accessible to a range of persons with varying needs.”

The design and access statement concludes that “the proposal represents an
acceptable and sustainable form of development which is appropriate for the location”.

A pre-application consultation report shows that residents raised a number of questions, including how emergency service vehicles would be able to access the residential site and why there was no vehicle access to it via the “much less congested” Library Road.

To the question on emergency vehicle access, Asbri Planning responded:

“The layout has been carefully designed to ensure that emergency vehicles can enter and manoeuvre around the site.”

It added that pre-application feedback with Highways “confirmed that creating a new access point off Library Road would not be acceptable”.

The pre-application consultation report also details concerns from BCBC’s Highways Department.

It highlighted that there would be a lack of visibility for drivers leaving the site’s northern access points as it was shown to be slightly off-set with Talana Terrace in the plans.

Asbri Planning responded to this concern by stating “forward visibility can be achieved” along Talana Terrace and the access point “cannot be shifted further north due to [third] party land constraints.”