Local campaign groups who have been active for many years promoting the preservation, history and future of the site of Ruperra Castle near Draethan, Caerphilly have expressed serious concerns regarding the proposed plans for part of the historic site.
The proposal to create dwellings within some of the Grade II listed outbuildings are due to be decided by Caerphilly County Borough Council's planning committee on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 5pm.
Planning application number 19/0787/COU, according to Caerphilly County Council's documentation, is for owner of the site Mr Alkhafaji to 'carry out conservation repairs to the former dairy and laundry (The Bothy) and change the use of the stables and coach house building to a mixed use of seven new residential units and stables'. There are also stated plans to convert the greenhouse into a bat roost to accommodate the variety of bat species documented to be at the site.
Ruperra Castle is a Grade II* structure and scheduled ancient monument, built around 1626 by Sir Thomas Morgan, steward to the Earl of Pembroke, as the latest example of the Elizabethan and Jacobean court taste for castellated mansions at that time.
The castle gained its listed status in 1964, amended in 1999, for being 'one of the most important Renaissance houses in south Wales'.
The site is of national historic significance as one of the earliest to use brick in its construction but more importantly, according to the Cadw listing, King Charles I stayed there in 1645 after the Battle of Naseby, when the house was described as 'one of the few houses fit for a king'.
Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, who was a captain in the 17th Lancers during the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War, was born at Ruperra and the castle also featured as a billeting post for troops after the Battle of Dunkirk during World War II.
The building has suffered two devastating fires in its lifetime, one in 1785 which led to it being remodelled and one in December 1941 from which it has never recovered and has since stood abandoned.
The stable and coach-house courtyard ranges to the north of Ruperra Castle are Grade II listed as 'a good example of Edwardian stabling and for its important associations with Ruperra Castle'. The former dairy and laundry are also Grade II listed for their group value with the stable, coach house and castle.
The plans submitted for consideration are for seven dwellings comprising a one-bed apartment, five two-bed apartments, and one three-bed apartment within the stables and coach house, with 22 proposed parking spaces in front of the dairy and laundry building.
For improved access, the plans propose that the entrance gate pillar be dismantled and rebuilt to form a wider entrance. The designs are by Graham Frecknall Architecture and Design who state within the application that 'the client's vision for the proposals was to create desirable living spaces for people who want to live in a remote rural, but accessible, historic location'.
Of the four planning applications that have been submitted, two are for listed building consent and two are for change of use and have been recommended for approval, with a long list of conditions attached, by the council's planning officers with the report to be presented stating that there has been no objections to the plans by the council's heritage officer or Cadw.
However, the proposals have currently generated 85 objections from a range of organisations and individuals which cover a number of key points including proposed work on the lesser buildings by the owner of the whole site while the castle 'remains a dangerous crumbling ruin'.
Further concerns include the impact of the on-site bats and the 'irreparable' impact of the development on the setting of the listed site which includes the scheduled ancient monument and a Grade II listed park.
The Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust believes a structural survey and repair schedule for the castle and a holistic estate masterplan are needed before any decisions are taken on separate parts of the site.
A spokesperson for the trust said: "We know the community will be disappointed in these recommendations as the proposals would not generate the scale of resources needed to preserve the castle and do not enhance the biodiversity of the area. The applications are premature in the absence of a comprehensive plan for the whole site.
"This proposed development conflicts with overarching Caerphilly Local Development Plan policies, comprising inappropriate development within open countryside and in a Special Landscape Area. With up to 36 people living in these apartments it would result in urbanisation of an otherwise rural setting.
"However, we are full of hope that the planning committee will make the right decision and refuse these plans on 28 September, giving the opportunity for a different future for this unique site and our heritage."
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