Plans Approved to Convert Treforest Chapel into Flats

Plans to turn a chapel in Treforest into flats have been approved by councillors.
The conversion of Saron Chapel in Saron Street, Treforest, into six two-bed apartments were given the go-ahead by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) on Thursday, September 26.
The accommodation would be over three floors with two flats within the basement, two flats at ground floor level and two flats at first floor level.
Each would have two bedrooms along with a kitchen/living space and bathroom.
There were two public letters of objections to the plans and objections from Pontypridd Town Council and local councillor Steve Powderhill.
The objections raised issues such as the impact on parking in the area, the lack of room for refuse storage, concerns the plans do not support cycling, suggestions the conversion is inappropriate for the street and concerns about the narrow street potentially becoming blocked by works vans.
Concerns were also raised over the impact on the graveyard, the quality of amenities for residents and the development having the potential to cause mental distress.
There were further objections based on there being a surplus of student accommodation available in the immediate area, with local residents and their families being forced to move away from the area which is not deemed satisfactory to the sustainability of the community, suggesting that the street must be close to overdevelopment.
But in recommending approval, officers said in their report that the proposal would bring a currently vacant property, which is considered to be of architectural merit, back into benefit use.
They said that given that the scheme can be developed without significant external alteration, it is not considered that it would have an adverse impact upon the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area, or upon the amenity and privacy of surrounding residential properties.
They said that the retention of the building in its current form (albeit with some minor external refurbishment works) would help to preserve the character of the Old Park Terrace conservation area and that no objection has been received from the council’s highways and transportation officer, adding that the proposal is considered to be acceptable in terms of the impact it would have upon highway safety in the vicinity of the site
Committee chair Councillor Sharon Rees called the concerns a difficult one, adding that the streets are narrow and the car parking is “horrendous” in the area.
Councillor Jill Bonetto said she agreed, but that the building does need to be brought back into use and that the longer its left it is going to deteriorate.
She said whatever it’s going to be used for would cause problems particularly where parking is an issue but that every ward has parking issues.
Councillor Loretta Tomkinson, who is also a member of Pontypridd Town Council, called the street tiny but added that as a derelict building, she’d like to see the chapel being regenerated and asked what else could it be.
Councillor Danny Grehan said he’s happy to see the building come back into use but that he would usually object to this kind of application because of the parking.
However he said because of the comments in the appeal he doesn’t think they have much space to manoeuvre with it. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​