Demolition signals improvements at Lansbury Park

The future looks bright for a major housing estate in Caerphilly thanks to an exciting package of planned improvement and regeneration works. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The first phase of a multi-million pound investment package is underway with major internal improvements being made to all the council owned properties on the estate and, as part of wider environmental improvements, this week sees the demolition of the old Lansbury Park community centre. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The run-down building, which has been disused for over 20 years, will be cleared to provide a new open space in the centre of the estate. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Local Councillors and residents turned out on Tuesday morning (8th March) to watch the demolition works progress. Cllrs Elaine Forehead, Christine Forehead and Barbara Jones have been working with the community and the local authority to secure a package of improvements for the estate and they welcomed the start of works to remove this building which has been an eyesore within the community. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The former community centre has been derelict for some time and, due the extent of structural defects with the building, it was not feasible to bring it back into public use. The council received £100,000 from Welsh Government’s Vibrant and Viable Places fund to demolish the building. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Lansbury Park is a big estate with a big heart and the people living here are proud to be part of such a close-knit community. Unfortunately the area has experienced a period of decline over recent years, but we are delighted to see that things are now starting to look up,” said Cllr Elaine Forehead. “The whole community will benefit from significant investment over the next few years to help regenerate the estate, enhance the living environment and improve the condition of the housing stock. These are exciting times for Lansbury Park and I’m very happy to be part of this programme of transformation,” she added. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

General housing improvements, as part of the Wales Housing Quality Standard (WHQS), will help transform the estate with an ambitious programme of internal and external works to local properties. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Dave Poole, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing said, “Lansbury Park has been labelled as one of the most deprived areas in Wales and we are determined to change this. A multi-agency task group has been established to work with the community to tackle a number of key issues such as improving the physical environment, supporting people into employment and improving the overall health and wellbeing of residents.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Public consultation will be carried out within the community to engage local residents and help identify further areas of improvement. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​