A report will be presented to the Vale of Glamorgan cabinet, by Christmas this year, recommending the resumption of the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Billybanks in Penarth.
The Penarth Heights scheme, which includes 377 new homes, fell through in 2008, but it now looks as though the original plan could be up and running in the New Year.
Vale of Glamorgan Councillor and Penarth Town Mayor, John Fraser, said: “A report to cabinet is expected before Christmas and if everything is in place, the report to cabinet will be suggesting taking out compulsory purchase orders (CPO’s) again.”
Coun Fraser on the report due to be presented to the Vale of Glamorgan cabinet
For almost 20 years the council had hoped to redevelop the site, but things only got moving in 1998, and by 2002 the estate had been largely emptied.
Work on the scheme was due to start in 2007, but with a deteriorating economic climate the project ground to a halt and was officially put on hold in 2008.
Coun Fraser said: “Because of the economic recession the developers, Crest Nicholson had to refinance their operations worldwide and until that was completed nothing was going to move forward.”
At that point the council had CPO’s on the remaining residents in the name of both the council and Crest Nicholson, but were dropped when the developers couldn’t guarantee proceeding with the project.
However it now appears Crest Nicholson are in a position to recommence with the £100 million scheme and Coun Fraser indicated work could start as soon as January next year.
This will be criticised by several parties most notably the Barry and Vale Friends of the Earth who objected to the original proposal on the basis that the plan was out dated.
Max Wallis of the local Friends of the Earth branch said, 75 affordable homes out of the 377 total was not enough and there was an insufficient level of public open space in the scheme.
Mr Wallis also complained that the section 106 planning gains amounting to more than £5 million did not reflect the needs of the community.
In a recent letter to the Penarth Times, Mr Wallis criticised the council and said: “Evidently, we’ll only get redevelopment with proper benefits for Penarth once the Council finished with Crest.”
However Coun Fraser quashed these suggestions and said it was too late to negotiate any new terms with Crest Nicholson. He also dismissed any suggestion of having an increased level of social housing and states the proposal meets the minimum 20 per cent required.
Coun Fraser on why there will be no changes
Standing on the headland of Penarth, the Billybanks, officially known as Harbour View and Royal Close, are one of the most derelict and deprived areas in South Wales.
The estate is largely over grown with doors and windows boarded up, widespread fire damage and structural deficits. The estate is a depressing eye-sore.
But the site boasts such spectacular panoramic views over Cardiff that it has been described as the most valuable building land in Wales.
The news will be a welcome boost to many in Penarth who feel work on the site is long overdue.
46 year-old Linda Morgan, a former resident of the Billybanks, said: “It is really sad how the estate is now. The way it has been left to fall apart is terrible it’s almost like a ghost town now. Although I have great memories living there, the sooner something can be done the better.”
Memories of the Billybanks
However it may not be plain sailing for the council.
One resident who has been living at the Billybanks since January 1991, said: “The Council have offered me very little. What they have offered me has not been suitable to my requirements. They have also failed to maintain the property I am in now.”
“I need a ground floor flat or bungalow because of my health. The only bungalow they offered me was in Dinas Powys, there are no amenities there so I turned it down.”
Coun Fraser defended the council and said: “I’m sure the housing officers have done their very best. When you look at the number of residential units that they started with, the great majority moved out without any complaint.
“We are now getting one or two saying the housing officers haven’t been helpful. I would suggest quite the opposite is true and they’ve not been helpful to the council.
“If things need repairing and the tenant goes through the proper channels then the council has an obligation to repair.”
The arrival of new age travellers on the site may also provide a stumbling block. The council have already taken a court order out to remove the them.
This legal action has so far been unsuccessful and when I spoke to one of the travellers they admitted they had stayed longer than intended in response to the council’s court action against them
But Coun Fraser did not see this as a problem, claiming that as soon as the report is approved the council would remove the travellers and Crest Nicholson would secure the site.
Nonetheless it seems the end of a long and sorry battle to redevelop the Billybanks has come a step closer.
Coun Fraser looking forward to the Penarth Heights redevelopment
