Site clearance work has begun off Darran Road in Mountain Ash after a contractor was appointed to prepare the land for development. Construction of a brand new, modern care accommodation for older people will get underway later this year, in a joint project between Linc Cymru (Linc) and the Council.
Planning consent for the old pavilion site was granted in August 2024, for a development that includes 25 Extra Care apartments, 15 dementia residential care beds, and eight ‘Later Living’ bungalows. A new three-storey block will be built on the western part of the site (below Bryn Ifor) while the bungalows are earmarked for the eastern part (above Foundry Terrace).
The development’s design will include provision to promote biodiversity and include features that will support sustainable urban drainage – while access, parking and landscaping works will be included within the wider site layout.
The Council’s Extra Care housing partner Linc bought the land in 2022 and has since carried out site investigation and design work. The tender process to appoint a contractor for the upcoming site activity invited applications in July 2024 to be submitted by October.
Linc and the Council are now pleased to announce that JG Hale Group is the appointed contractor for the site clearance and enabling work. This has now started, and will be completed by the end of March 2025.
Disruption to the community during this phase of work is expected to be minimal, as the clearance work will be confined within the site’s boundary.
After the clearance work is completed, there will be a break in site activity while further detailed design work is undertaken – in preparation for the development’s main construction phase to start. Linc and the Council will keep residents informed at the next key milestones for the scheme in due course.
Councillor Gareth Caple, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said: “The community in Mountain Ash will soon notice important site activity at the old pavilion site off Darran Road, which is earmarked for an investment providing local care accommodation that is in great demand. Planning permission was granted to Linc last summer for this joint project, to provide a mix of Extra Care and dementia care beds, as well as ‘Later Living’ bungalows. It shows we are continuing to deliver upon a long-standing commitment to modernise residential care options for older people.
“Our excellent track of such investment has seen state-of-the-art Extra Care housing provided in Aberaman and Graig in recent years, and these are ever-popular with their residents and their wider communities. A third Extra Care scheme is currently being built in Porth, along with a new specialist care accommodation in Gelli. Cabinet has also committed to future schemes in Ferndale, focusing on dementia care, and in Church Village – which will be an accommodation for people with learning disabilities in adulthood and old age.
“We’re delighted to again be working alongside Linc to deliver the Mountain Ash development. The upcoming clearance work will be an important stage of the overall scheme, ensuring the site is ready for the main construction phase. Work over the next six weeks or so is not expected to cause much local disruption, and I’d like to thank residents in advance for their cooperation.”
Linc is now part of the Pobl Group, and this project in Mountain Ash is its first that involves Pobl Development Limited as the construction contract client.
Richard Hallett, Development Manager at Linc, added: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in the delivery of their extra care programme. Having successfully completed two large extra care schemes in Aberdare and Pontypridd and progressing well on a third in Porth, it’s great to see a fourth project getting underway. The completed facility will be tailor made to meet the needs of older people from the local community in and around Mountain Ash, and demonstrates the ‘Large and Local’ goal that Linc and Pobl have committed to since their merger in April 2024.”
