Development Update - January 2021


Despite Covid-19 and the variety of lockdowns and firebreaks we have made significant progress in 2020 to ensure 2021 brings some positive and exciting developments for the Rhydycar West project. Here's a quick update of what's happening and expected in the coming months:

The Planning Application

We intend to submit a planning application mid-this year ( 2021) so in around just 6 months.

We have already completed much of the baseline technical work required for our planning application including Engineering, Planning, Ecology and Environmental, Heritage and Archaeology, Masterplanning, Transport, Landscape and Design, Architecture, Geo-environmental and Socio-Economic Impact. The last phase of our planning application work is now in progress and proceeding at a pace. All this work has been financed and continues to be financed by us (with no Welsh Government contribution). Over this journey of several years of preparation this has been of particular importance to us as a means as demonstrating our confidence in our proposals with the significant commitment of our own funds.

As a recap, below are some of the significant milestones we have already achieved and how these will assist in progressing the next stages of this project:

Wide Engagement

For a number of years, we have been engaging and consulting widely with key local and national stakeholders to carefully design a development that will create lasting economic and social benefits for Merthyr and the wider South Wales region while remaining sensitive to the history and heritage of Merthyr and the region, these include:

  • Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
  • Welsh Government
  • Local businesses & organisations

Heritage

Working collaboratively with CADW to facilitate the creation of 6 new scheduled ancient monuments (SAMs) onsite – the SAMs and other important heritage features are a cornerstone of our development which aspires to revive, regenerate and create access to inaccessible sites of historical interests on the Rhydycar West land, there by linking into the existing local and regional network of existing sites.

Snow Sport Wales

We continue to work closely with Snow Sport Wales to create a national Centre of Excellence for Snowsport at Rhydycar West resort development. This would be the home of the Welsh National Snowsport and Olympic Teams.

UK Destination

The outreach of our development will bO UK wide, impacting positively locally, regionally and with elements of national significance.

Local Focus

We have always been and remain very focused on delivering a positive local impact to local businesses, the existing retail offerings in the borough, complimenting existing leisure offerings (e.g. Bike Park Wales & Rock UK) and creating economic benefit and support for all locally. All our work over the past few years has been driven to develop a proposal of transformational significance.

We're always interested in the ideas and sentiment of the local area and beyond, so please take and encourage people you know to complete the survey from this website.

We will keep you informed.

Richard Arnold | Consultant - Head of Operations.