PUBLIC toilets will remain in a key location in Pontypool when a current block is transformed into a restaurant.
Plans to convert the Hanbury Road toilets, on the edge of Pontypool Park, to a restaurant have been given the go-ahead by councillors at a meeting where the importance of public toilets was also stressed.
The conversion of the toilet block to a restaurant, with new extensions to the side and at the first floor level that will be suspended out towards the Italian Gardens in Pontypool Park, is part of a £9.3 million redevelopment intended to breathe new life into the town and create a nighttime economy and supported by £7.6 million from the UK Government’s Levelling Up fund.
New windows will be added to the front of the block, on Hanbury Road, while the rear extension, with floor to ceiling windows will be suspended by three pillars designed to resemble tree trunks with branches cradling what will be the dining area.
The derelict St James Church, opposite the toilet block, is also set to transformed into a cultural hub with a pop-up cinema and food and exhibition spaces, while councillors last month approved a revamp of the nearby Glantorvaen multi-storey car park intended to create a safe parking space to support the new attractions.
Torfaen Borough Council’s application for the conversion of the toilet block was unanimously approved by its planning committee, but Pontnewynydd and Snatchwood councillor Alfie Best asked for confirmation the plan would retain toilets in Pontypool for the general public to use, which he said hadn’t been clear to all.
The Labour councillor said: “I know a lot of people are worried there would no longer be toilets in Pontypool.”
Planning officer Mia McAndrew confirmed there would be two accessible public toilets in the building as well as customer toilets in the restaurant and said: “It will be at the businesses’ discretion whether those are shared with the public.”
She also reminded the committee the plans for the car park redevelopment include new toilets, with two of the six toilets in the car park, which is up a steep street from Hanbury Road, to be gender neutral.
Cwmbran Pontnewydd Labour member Stuart Ashley said he welcomed the new toilets in the car park and that public conveniences will continue to be provided in Hanbury Road. He said: “I’ve been asked about the toilets as the bus drivers use that very much.”
He also said he supported the proposals that are based on creating an attraction that will help encourage the 290,000 people that visit Pontypool Park every year to venture into the town centre and boost its footfall.
The councillor, who said he was a community worker in the centre of Pontypool “years ago”, added: “It’s a brilliant idea to bring the park into the town.”
He also asked if the council would be able to place any conditions on the type of seating used in the outdoor dining area, to be created in the Italian Gardens, as he said he wouldn’t want to see “lots of plastic chairs”.
Ms McAndrew said seating wouldn’t be a matter for planning unless there were permanent structures.
The application also included listed building consent for the removal and replacement of steps currently leading from the gardens to the Grade II-listed War Memorial gates and the wall between the toilet block, which isn’t a listed building but is in the town’s conservation area, and the gates.
A condition will be included to prevent the installation of black railings on walls beside the new steps unless they are agreed by planners as the council’s heritage officer said the need for railings was “not clear” and their “cluttered design” would be at odds with the listed gates. Llanyrafon Labour councillor David Williams said railings may have been included as an aid for people climbing the steps.
A Cypress tree next to the steps will be retained but two beside the toilet block will be removed to make way for the extension and will be replaced with two lime trees.
Ms McAndrew said the council’s planning department had questioned a report on how the development, that is 16 metres outside the official town centre boundary, would impact the centre, but had raised no objection. She also said as the new commercial use is outside of the boundary it isn’t “fully policy compliant” but the Levelling Up fund is a “significant investment” and the project will support the town centre so is considered to be acceptable and recommended for approval.
Trevethin and Penygarn Labour councillor Jon Horlor said August 2024 will mark the centenary of the gates being installed and committee chair, Panteg member Norma Parrish, said though she didn’t know if the project will be completed by the anniversary she hoped it would be. The council has previously said it anticipates the projects will be completed by March 2025.
Heritage body Cadw will have 28 days to respond if it disagrees with the council’s decision to grant listed building consent.
The St James’ Church redevelopment is the only remaining of the three schemes that form the Pontypool Cultural Hub project that has yet to secure planning permission.
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