Extensive plans for new houses and flats in Rogerstone have finally been given the go-ahead after nearly two years in limbo.

Newport City Homes is leading a project that will result in the demolition of 1-23 Oak Road and the construction of 43 new homes in their place.

Of those new properties, 29 will be accommodation for over-55s, and residents living in the flats earmarked for demolition will be moved there, Newport City Council’s planning committee heard on Wednesday.

Originally announced in 2022, the “major” application has been “amended significantly since submission” to resolve concerns about the development’s design, highway issues and the impact on protected trees.

Andrew Ferguson, the council’s planning and development manager, told the committee “this has been a long process, but we’re satisfied that what’s before members is actually a really good scheme”.

None of the trees to be felled under the final plans are covered by preservation orders, and there will be “new planting” on the land, he added.

The development comprises a “north site” where the 23 flats will be replaced with five houses and a block of nine flats, and a currently vacant “south site” where 29 flats will be built for new over-55s accommodation.

A communal garden area will also be created for residents, Mr Ferguson said.

Committee member Cllr John Reynolds told colleagues the plans represented a “very welcome development for the area”.

But Mr Ferguson said a dozen neighbours had objected to the application, citing – among other concerns – noise and traffic, “overdevelopment of the site”, privacy worries, and the parking provision being “too low”.

An agent for Newport City Homes, however, told the meeting a parking survey had found only around one in three residents (38%) at the current Oak Road flats required a parking space.

The committee members voted unanimously to grant planning permission, subject to conditions.