Council’s Compulsory Purchase Order consultation extended

As part of the next phase of ongoing regeneration plans in Porthcawl, Bridgend County Borough Council has issued a series of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs).

The CPOs follow efforts made earlier in the year to identify and confirm ownership details on several small parcels of land located in and around Sandy Bay and Coney Beach.

While the compulsory purchases do not affect any residential addresses in the area, the council has written to properties that immediately surround the CPO sites to ensure that householders are aware and can have an opportunity to review and comment upon them.

The council has also contacted relevant landowners who were identified during the earlier phase of the process.

Meanwhile full details on the locations of the land the council is purchasing has been made available and can be accessed online at the council website and also in hard copy at Porthcawl Library in Church Place, Porthcawl (CF36 3AG).

Following the start of the consultation period on 21 October it has become evident that the Planning Inspectorate email address originally provided for the submission of objections has since been discontinued with a new Planning and Environment Decisions Wales email replacing it.

As a result of the change in email address on consultation documents, the statutory objection period has been extended by a further 21 days from the publication date of a revised press notice which is scheduled for Thursday 4 November. In the meantime, revised site notices will be publicised with the updated information and revised letters sent to all those that received an initial letter.

The updated email address for anyone who wants to comment upon or register an objection to the compulsory purchase orders is PEDW.Casework@gov.wales. People are also able to write to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales, Crown Buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ.

The deadline for this is 26 November 2021 and you should state the title of the order and the grounds of the objection as well as the objector’s address and interest in the land.

Following work to identify the landowners of a number of small plots of land, this next stage involves carrying out compulsory purchase orders to safeguard the delivery of the next phase in our regeneration plans. This is an opportunity for anyone who wants further information about which bits of land are affected and what we intend to do with the compulsory purchases to come and find out more.

We want to lay down the groundwork for establishing new retail, residential, recreational and open space opportunities within the Coney Beach and Sandy Bay areas as well as creating an all-new school, enhanced coastal protection, new ecological measures to protect the local dune system and more.

Due to an updated email address now being used for the objection period, the public have an additional 21 days to take part in the consultation, ensuring that there is the opportunity to engage in the process in full. Following this legal process, there will be a separate public consultation on the placemaking masterplan for the whole seafront area so please keep an eye out for details being published soon on this.

The council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration Charles Smith

• The hard copies at Porthcawl Library can be inspected between 9.15am-6pm on Mondays, 9.15am-5pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 9.15am-1pm on Wednesdays. Please note that the library closes for lunch between 1pm-2pm, and is closed all day on Sundays.