Work begins on development of 29 new homes in Newtown
Work is now underway on a development of 29 homes on the edge of Newtown, almost seven years after planning permission was first granted at the site.
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The development on Llanidloes Road in Newtown was granted outline planning permission for 30 homes in 2018, although a reserved matters application detailing the scale and layout of the development was not approved until 2023.
Developer SJ Roberts Homes says it has now started preliminary construction work at the site, north of Llanidloes Road, near Mochdre.
The Shropshire-based developer says the entirely open-market development known as Penson Gardens is its first project in Wales, although the company is also currently building homes on the Allscott Meads development near Telford.
“As a local developer, this is an exciting opportunity for SJ Roberts Homes to provide a range of homes at this fantastic location on the edge of Newtown," said Mike Sambrook of SJ Roberts Homes.
“The homes that we will be delivering at Penson Gardens in Newtown have been carefully designed by our own in-house team and will be built using timber frames manufactured by our sister company, Lowfield Timber Frames.
“We cannot wait to get started and to show potential purchasers everything that this new development will offer.”
Approving the reserved matters scheme in 2023, Powys County Council officers noted "alarm" from the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) about a lack of excavations as part of the outline consent relating to the location of a Roman road on the site.
CPAT had raised concerns about the proximity of the works to the route of the road, alongside a site of "high archaeological potential at sub-surface levels" near a proposed pumping station for the scheme.
However planners ruled the scheme could go ahead after deciding the northern boundary of the works would miss the site of the road by around 2 metres.
"No works on this boundary, or for the pumping station, should affect this Roman road," said the report in 2023.
"Officers note that a buffer has been included around the pumping station whilst the Roman road is also located out of the development site. Officers would consider it appropriate to include an informative highlighting the position of the Roman road."
However, they praised the scheme for delivering a "mixture of two-, three- and four-bedroom properties" which would "meet a range of housing needs for the surrounding area".
An application to remove a requirement to build six affordable properties as part of the scheme was approved by Powys County Council in 2022. The affordable homes originally proposed as part of the scheme will now be built on a separate development to the south of Llanidloes Road.
The developer says the first properties will be available to reserve from spring 2025, and that all properties will be available for sale on the open market.
