Green light for 30 riverside flats in Newport

An area in Crawford Street – between Caerleon Road and the River Usk – is currently the site of several car garages, but applicants MVP Solutions Ltd have secured an option to buy the land for residential redevelopment.

Newport City Homes will manage the apartments, when they are built, as the registered social landlord.

The homes will comprise eight two-bedroom apartments, each for three residents; and 22 one-bedroom apartments, each for two residents.

At a committee meeting on Wednesday, September 6, Newport City Council planning officer Joanne Davidson told councillors the development had been assessed for flood concerns.

An artist’s impression of proposed apartments in Crawford Street, Newport. Credit: Kennedy James Griffiths

The site would not be safe from a so-called “one in 200-year tidal event” and the ramp to the parking area would flood – but council documents show the building itself, and the parking area, “will be flood-free”.

To mitigate the effects of such flooding, the proposed apartment block will be elevated above ground level, the committee was told.

Documents show three neighbours objected to the plans, for reasons including a lack of existing parking in the area, worries about increased pressures on public services, and concerns the three-storey apartment building would be “imposing”.

St Julians ward councillor Phil Hourihane urged the committee to ensure construction access to the development would be via Turner Street – to which the applicant has agreed.

And Cllr Carmel Townsend, who also represents the ward, questioned the “limited” suitability of the nearby green space (known locally as the Patch) as a recreation area for residents.

An artist’s impression of proposed apartments in Crawford Street, Newport. Credit: Kennedy James Griffiths

A design statement submitted by Kennedy James Griffiths architects, on behalf of the applicants, said the area had “a large park in the centre, surrounded by large trees and bushes providing a vibrant area for children and adults to use”.

That statement said the proposed site would “address an identified need for affordable housing” and “provide a development that is sensitive to its wider environment and does not adversely affect neighbouring occupiers”.

Planning permission to demolish the existing garages and to build the apartment application was granted with conditions.