Long-suffering residents of ‘new’ Welsh village blast developers who promised a thriving community with schools, parks and shops – but are still waiting for them to be built 10 years later
- Coed Darcy, in Neath Port Talbot, was supposed to be a thriving eco-village
- But 20 years later, it has no shops, no schools, no pubs and no doctors surgery
The long-suffering residents of a ‘new’ Welsh village that is supposed to have schools, parks and shops say they are still waiting for them to be built 10 years later.
Coed Darcy, a village being developed near to Llandarcy in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, was sold to homeowners as the perfect place to start a family.
But locals say they’ve lived there for 10 years now and they’re still waiting for schools and shops to be built.
Coed Darcy was set to be a unique 15-minute neighbourhood, an ‘eco village’ rising from the ashes of a previously polluted petro-chemicals site, for the price of £1.2billion.
But instead, residents say they have a two and a half mile journey to the nearest shop and the developer will only build half the number of houses it promised originally.
Coed Darcy, a village being developed near to Llandarcy in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, was sold to homeowners as the perfect place to start a family
Then plans were submitted to transform the empty land into a thriving village modelled on Prince Charles’ well-regarded urban development of Poundbury in Dorset, who was reportedly interested in the plans for Coed Darcy – but much of the land is yet to be developed
Residents say they have a two and a half mile journey to the nearest shop and the developer will only build half the number of houses it promised originally
Coed Darcy was set to be a unique 15-minute neighbourhood, a sort of ‘eco village’ rising from the ashes of a previously polluted petro-chemicals site, for the price of £1.2billion
Twenty years ago, land remediation works began at the site of the former Llandarcy Oil Refinery owned by BP, next to Llandarcy village in Neath Port Talbot.
It had been the first crude oil refinery in the UK and was in operation from 1922 to 1997, before it was closed down and lay dormant for several years.
Then plans were submitted to transform the empty land into a thriving village modelled on Prince Charles’ well-regarded urban development of Poundbury in Dorset, who was reportedly interested in the plans for Coed Darcy.
READ MORE – The squalid refinery site transformed into stunning homes with the help of Prince Charles
King Charles even visited the site himself in 2013, interested in the plans for the project.
He said he was ‘trying to break the commercial mould with the kind of challenges the world is now facing.’
After five years of environmental remediation works, removing pollution, chemicals and any hazards, construction work began building the village itself.
Rhianna Pridham, who has lived in the village for 10 years, told WalesOnline she and her husband moved there because they were ‘sold the whole dream’ of Coed Darcy as a future thriving village with schools, parks and all the community facilities they could need, right on their doorstep.
She said: ‘I love it here, there’s a real community feel – but I’ve lived here 10 years now and the school was meant to be built before my daughter turned three. She’s now seven and there’s still no sign of it.’
Initial approved plans for the village included the building of 4,000 homes, four schools (one Welsh-language primary school, two English-language primary schools, and a secondary school), a doctors surgery, community hall, library, sports facilities and 500,000 square feet of ’employment space’.
But over the course of 10 years, from the time developer St Modwen began working on the site in 2009 until 2019, only 300 homes had been built – and many of them were empty.
Rhianna Pridham, who has lived in the village for 10 years, said she and her husband moved there because they were ‘sold the whole dream’ of Coed Darcy as a future thriving village with schools, parks and all the community facilities they could need, right on their doorstep
Initial approved plans for the village included the building of 4,000 homes, four schools (one Welsh-language primary school, two English-language primary schools, and a secondary school), a doctors surgery, community hall, library, sports facilities and ’employment space’
In June 2020, the council gave the developer St Modwen permission to expand the village and dates were set for the opening of the new schools – September 2023
A Neath Port Talbot Council meeting at the time said the work had been delayed for several years but was set to pick up again – but then it was stalled by the pandemic.
In June 2020, the council gave the developer St Modwen permission to expand the village and dates were set for the opening of the new schools – September 2023.
Coedffranc West councillor Helen Ceri Clarke said at the time: ‘When they initially put the plan in years and years ago the economy was in a different position than it is now.
‘I’m pleased that we’ve finally got dates on schools and there’s action on the shop coming in.
‘I’m pleased it’s moving forward. I know the residents will be over the moon when they start building that school.’
But that date passed, and the families saw no sign of the new schools opening.
By February 2022, developer St Modwen had tweaked its plans further – and had approached the council for permission to expand the Coed Darcy development and build commercial and employment units.
Developers carried out a consultation with members of the community and asked them to share their views on the masterplan and what they’d like to see at Coed Darcy
It’s now been 18 months since this consultation – and it appears residents are no closer to seeing these facilities they want, and the local schools they need for their families
Some streets in Coed Darcy looked well-looked after, with perfectly manicured gardens and gorgeous houses, but others still look unfinished
At the time, managing director of major projects at St. Modwen, Rob Williams, said: ‘The pandemic has changed the way people think about their living space, community areas, and the importance of work-life balance.
‘Our new master plan focuses on the principles of creating a ’15-minute neighbourhood’, with the community able to access many daily needs within a short distance of their homes.’
Developers carried out a consultation with members of the community and asked them to share their views on the masterplan and what they’d like to see at Coed Darcy.
‘Some of the most common requests from the community so far have included pedestrian and cycle routes, a café, a shop, a community hub, green spaces and more on-site activities.
‘We are committed to delivering all of these aspects as part of the masterplan over the next few years,’ developers said.
It’s now been 18 months since this consultation – and it appears residents are no closer to seeing these facilities they want, and the local schools they need for their families.
Now, some streets in Coed Darcy looked well-looked after, with perfectly manicured gardens and gorgeous houses, but others still look unfinished.
Whilst barriers have fenced-off some areas of the village for development, no construction work has actually taken place, according to residents.
Whilst barriers have fenced-off some areas of the village for development, no construction work has actually taken place, according to residents
Sian Owen and her husband Ricky moved to Coed Darcy from Llansamlet six months ago
Sian Owen and her husband Ricky moved to Coed Darcy from Llansamlet six months ago, looking for a pleasant and affordable family home for them and their two children, aged seven and 10.
They praised the sense of community and the local parks, but were keen to see some more facilities open up.
READ MORE – Neighbours of new ‘ghost town’ with 10,000 homes but no GP or shops say their own surgery is already overwhelmed
Mrs Owen said: ‘There’s no shop here – it’s two and a half miles to the nearest shop.
‘You can’t just pop over if you run out of milk or something, it’s really inconvenient.
‘There’s some nice parks for the kids, and we’re happy for them to go on their own – it’s safe and the parks are so close by.
‘The children go to school in Llansamlet which isn’t far but it would be more convenient to have schools here.
‘We need a shop! There’s talk of a coffee shop as well, but we’ve not really been told what’s happening with that. And we could do with more parking.
‘But, overall, we love it here. In the summer in the park, they put on a Fun Day for the kids with a bouncy castle – people from the community arranged it. It was brilliant – we love that there’s things going on, but we do need some more facilities.’
Local James Dewitt said: ‘It is a lovely community here. I do love living here but we haven’t had any of the other facilities that were promised.
‘We were supposed to have a medical centre and a shop and we haven’t had any of them.
St Modwen said that it submitted a planning application to Neath Port Talbot Council in November, 2021, and said its new ‘masterplan,’ for 1,800 homes, new shops and facilities and land for a new school was currently being considered by the council
One resident who has been living at the village since May said: ‘It’s been good so far. We’ve got the park – I’ve got two young children, aged six and 10 so that’s perfect for them’
‘In the short term, what we probably need the most is a shop because the infrastructure here was built with walking in mind.
‘So there isn’t enough parking, which would be okay but you kind of need cars because we don’t have the facilities we were supposed to be able to walk to.
‘There are adequate doctors in Skewen but there is nowhere near enough parking and we have to drive because there isn’t one nearby.
‘It’s not like we aren’t getting medical care but we aren’t getting the convenient local walkable medical care that we were expecting. It isn’t as convenient and local as we were hoping.’
READ MORE – Inside Britain’s eerie ‘ghost’ housing estates: From seafront apartments to NHS homes and ‘warzones’ – how locals are condemned to live beside land abandoned by developers
Mr Dewitt added that the nearest primary school, Crymlyn Primary School, provided good quality education but said the building was ‘ageing’ and appeared to be reaching maximum capacity, so he and other residents were eager to know if/when the planned primary schools would be built at Coed Darcy.
He said: ‘We just want to know what’s happening so we can make plans with our families. The uncertainty is one of the most frustrating things.’
While one resident said he was pleased not to have the loud noise of construction work and machinery, he said he’d rather see new houses built than the view of fencing on a tired, muddy field.
He said: ‘Originally, the village was meant to be a mixture of three, four and five-bedroom homes there [the field near my home].
‘I was hoping they’d be nice houses but we’ve heard they’re going to be affordable homes now, which I’m not 100% happy about as I worry that will devalue my house.
‘It’s a nice area here, everyone looks out for each other and as far as I’m aware the planning for schools were approved, but they’ve just not been built yet.’
One resident, who has been living at the village since May, said: ‘It’s been good so far. We’ve got the park – I’ve got two young children, aged six and 10 so that’s perfect for them.
‘There’s been talk of a drive-thru, a Starbucks, but we don’t really know when or if that will happen. There’s no shops here but that doesn’t really bother me as I’m used to that [from where I’ve lived before].’
St Modwen said that it submitted a planning application to Neath Port Talbot Council in November, 2021, and said its new ‘masterplan,’ for 1,800 homes, new shops and facilities and land for a new school was currently being considered by the council.
A spokesperson for St. Modwen said: ‘Following consultation with the local community, our planning application for Coed Darcy focuses on creating an innovative and sustainable neighbourhood, including the provision of 1,800 low-carbon and sustainable homes, extensive green spaces, new shops and community facilities, as well as land for a new school.
‘We hope the council will approve the plans which would allow construction of the new homes and community facilities to begin in 2025.’
Source: Read Full Article