Councillors in Caerphilly have given the green light to an “innovative” apartment project for the over-55s.

The development, on the site of the former Ty Darran care home in Risca, will include an allotment area, a communal garden and storage space for mobility scooters.

The council will use the 45 proposed apartments to relocate people already living in sheltered housing schemes that have been earmarked for closure.

Ty Darran was closed down a decade ago and was later demolished to make way for the proposed development.

At a meeting of the council’s planning committee last week, councillors unanimously backed a reserved matters application for the project, finalising details around the development’s size, appearance and landscaping.

Some of the apartments, on the upper floors, will include balconies – and the development will also include communal spaces for meeting areas, workshops and a courtyard in a project described by the council as catering to “later living”.

South Wales Argus: Credit: Pentan Architects This is how the apartments at Ty Darran will look

One public representation was filed when the plans were out for public consultation, from a neighbour who requested a pedestrian crossing be installed outside the proposed homes.

They said a crossing was “desperately needed on this portion of road, given the increase in older populations going about their day here, plus [a crossing] would serve the existing community well”.

Planning documents show council officers have already imposed a condition that a crossing must be provided, but this is more likely to be an “island” in the middle of the road rather than the controlled type of crossing requested by the member of the public.

South Wales Argus: Credit: Pentan Architects

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the committee meeting, Cllr Shayne Cook, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said he was “very pleased” to see the scheme approved.

He said: “This flagship scheme will have open communal, multi-use spaces and include apartments that are light, spacious and enable access to the wider environment. 

“Its design combines innovation with the needs of residents, with the highest levels of energy efficiency to reduce carbon emissions and keep fuel costs to a minimum.”

The homes will include what Cllr Cook called “innovative design features to ensure energy costs are kept to a minimum for residents”.

Caerphilly Council’s cabinet is expected to endorse the redevelopment of the Ty Darran site at a meeting later in October.