The economic potential of two industrial estates in the heart of the £1.2bn Cardiff and Region City Deal are set to receive a major boost after a Local Development Order was passed (CONFIRM) by Rhondda Cynon Taff Council’s Cabinet in July. This enables approved new or relocating businesses at Treforest Industrial Estate and Parc Nantgarw to construct buildings up to six storeys high without the need for planning permission. Additionally, businesses already on the estates will be able to expand by up to half of their original size without formal planning approval.
Ben Bolton, Director of Business Space at Cooke & Arkwright said: “Planners in Rhondda Cynon Taff are already very supportive regarding commercial developments in Treforest and Parc Nantgarw Industrial Estates, but this order will allow businesses to cut through the red tape and progress any expansion plans with greater speed and confidence. More widely, it will be a good test bed for other regions where planning may be more contentious to consider. If this type of Local Development Order was to be adopted more widely, it would provide an important boost to the attractiveness of the South Wales industrial sector as a whole, especially with the imminent scrapping of the Severn Bridge toll charges. We will watch this development order with interest.”
The two estates on the edge of Cardiff already host a range of industries and thriving business communities, and their location on the doorstep of the M4 with excellent communication links via vehicle, bus and rail make them attractive to businesses looking to locate or expand. Treforest Industrial Estate is one of Wales’s largest and oldest established industrial estates, with direct connections to Cardiff via the main arterial trunk roads. Together, Treforest and adjacent Parc Nantgarw industrial estates cover a substantial area housing at least 300 units, with a further 11 acres of as-yet undeveloped land.
As LDOs remove the need to apply for planning permission, businesses are able to progress their plans with greater speed and certainty, and reduce risk and costs as long as they comply with the conditions set out in the LDO. As well as providing flexibility for businesses, the LDO has the opportunity to encourage and promote development which helps to create a more attractive environment on the Estate, such as improving the public realm through landscaping, improving public transport through the site and reducing the number of vacant sites and buildings. The LDO for Treforest Industrial Estate and Parc Nantgarw is expected to extend to 10 years.