Cabinet updated on Ewenny Road Industrial Estate funding

The Cabinet of Bridgend County Borough Council has received an update on the progress made in bringing a derelict site in Maesteg back into use.

The former Budelpack COSi and Cooper Standard site on Ewenny Road Industrial Estate has been vacant for more than a decade despite ongoing efforts at regeneration. The long-term plan is to enable mixed use development at the site, including homes, retail provision, enterprise units and a railway park and ride facility.

The 20-acre site is unviable due to the considerable costs required to make the site ready for development. Major infrastructure works are necessary, for example, to divert an historic mining drain and backfill several mineshafts.

At a meeting on Tuesday 18 May, Cabinet approved work to progress with a grant application for funding worth £3.5m from the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) for necessary infrastructure and remediation works.

The application has been shortlisted for funding, subject to further consideration and due diligence to be completed by CCR with a final confirmed shortlist expected in June.

The masterplan has been revised in conjunction with the site’s co-owners Pontardawe Coal & Metals Company Limited to maximise the likelihood of funding being secured. The key changes include:

• Increase in residential dwellings from 138 to 186
• Provision of 15% on site affordable housing compared to the off-site contributions previously proposed
• Provision of a transport interchange, including a bus stop and a park and ride facility at the far western end of the site due to its close proximity to the Ewenny Road railway station
• Relocation and reconfiguration of the enterprise hub to sit alongside the proposed transport interchange
• Removal of large-scale retail units due to their potential impact on Maesteg town centre and their replacement with a small-scale local retail provision

If secured, the funding will allow this site, which has been empty for a decade, to be prepared ready for development.

Officers will continue to engage with CCR in connection with the due diligence stage of the grant application and work will be undertaken to secure a revised planning consent. If successful, the required remediation works will be undertaken and the site marketed.

Any proceeds from the sale of the land will be reinvested back into the Llynfi Valley, with facilities including a park and ride and an enterprise hub.

Councillor Charles Smith, Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration