Plans for a new 32-bed residential dementia care home in Ferndale have been approved by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.
Members of the council’s Planning and Development Committee granted full permission for the development on Thursday, August 13.
The modern care facility will be built on the former Chubb Factory site and will replace the existing Ferndale House Care Home.
The council has committed to keeping Ferndale House open until the new accommodation is completed. Current residents will be offered the opportunity to move into the new home, while its established workforce will transfer to the new facility.
The development will include office space, dining areas, a kitchen and laundry facilities. Landscaping, car parking and sustainable drainage will also be provided.
Access to the site will be from the A4233 through Ferndale Industrial Estate. The brownfield site is currently vacant, with all former buildings having been removed.
Residents were invited to learn more about the initial proposals at a public event in March 2025, followed by a wider engagement exercise that continued until June 2025. The feedback received helped shape the final planning application.
A report presented to the committee said the scheme would respond to local needs and help address demand for care home provision across Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Councillor Gareth Caple, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Care, said: “I’m very pleased that the Planning and Development Committee has supported the Council’s application to provide a modern care accommodation for people with dementia, in the community of Ferndale. The Council previously made a commitment that the decommissioning of Ferndale House Care Home would only be done when this modern accommodation is built, with all dedicated staff and the residents they care for given the option to transfer to the new facility. That is still absolutely the case, and Thursday’s granting of planning permission is an important step in this process.
“The development in Ferndale will become the latest of several recent investments to modernise residential care options for older people. Since 2020, we’ve opened Maesyffynon and Cwrt yr Orsaf extra care housing in Aberaman and Graig, while a third state-of-the-art extra care facility has recently been constructed and handed over to the Council in Porth. We’re also progressing well with building a new specialist care facility in Gelli, which will be completed later this year – while a mixed care accommodation in Mountain Ash started its construction phase earlier this year for delivery in 2027. There is also a future commitment for a specialist care accommodation in Church Village.
“I’d like to thank everyone who took part in last summer’s engagement activity as we shared initial plans for the Ferndale development at that time. The local feedback was invaluable to help officers submit the final planning application. Following Thursday’s approval by the committee, the development can now be progressed towards the construction phase. The community will be kept up-to-date with progress as we move towards delivering this fantastic project.”
