Plans Under Consideration for Construction of Over 200 Houses in Sleepy Welsh Village of St Athan

This article is old - Published: Friday, Apr 3rd, 2026

Plans are under consideration to build over 200 houses in a sleepy Welsh village.
Developer BDW Trading Ltd has lodged an application with Vale of Glamorgan Council to build 232 houses and a foodstore that can be as large as 20,000 sq ft on Church Farm in St Athan.
The development will feature a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom properties.
These properties will be split into 150 homes for the open market, 54 social rented units and 28 “low-cost home ownership units”.
The application reads: “The development has been structured around a clear street hierarchy and integrated network of green infrastructure and public open spaces to create a high-quality and inclusive residential environment”
The affordable homes on site are located throughout the development, “providing integration with the open market housing”.
Planning documents read: “The proposals make efficient use of the site by providing much needed market and affordable homes, in addition to a new foodstore.”
It continues: “The design of the development will create a vibrant neighbourhood with strong connections to the local community.”
The documents also outline that a total of 498 private car parking spaces will be provided, with the numbers per plot ranging from one to three depending on “dwelling size”
There will also be 48-off carriageway visitor parking spaces.
Four-hundred metres of hedgerow will are proposed to be removed as well as 12 small hawthorn trees to make way for the development.
In return, a total of 200 trees are proposed to be planted across the development in addition to 600m of hedgerow, over 500sq m of “native shrub planting” and over 3,500sq m of native grassland and wildflowers.
The application reads: “The development includes the creation of several open spaces and green corridors within the site.
“This includes three large open spaces, with two primarily focusing on formal and informal play and the larger space combining informal play, biodiversity and sustainable drainage systems use.”
Regarding the proposed foodstore, the application reads: “Given the limited food retailing options within St Athan currently, the proposed foodstore would make a significant contribution to the settlement as a whole and reduce longer journeys by private car to other foodstores further afield.”
It continues: “The provision of a food store will have significant sustainability benefits and have the potential to create a range of new employment opportunities.” ‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌