Plans by a care provider to build bungalows and staff accommodation at the site of a former school in Ystradgynlais, are recommended for approval.

Fieldbay Ltd already run a Care Home at Yr Ysgol and want to use land to the south of the site to build four supported living bungalows and a staff pod.

They lodged the plans with Powys County Council back in April 2021.

The application will be decided by councillors on the council’s Planning committee at a meeting on Thursday, October 20.

Fieldbay provide nursing, residential, domiciliary, and home care for people who have complex needs.

The land where the company want to build had been used for car parking.

According to documents lodged with the proposal there is enough space elsewhere on the site for staff and visitors to park.

A big snag with the proposals is that the site had been marked as inside a C2 Flood Zone on Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Development Advice Map (DAM) as the river Tawe flow just 100 metres away from the site.

This means that the site is “without significant flood defence structure” and the development is “highly vulnerable” and would be considered unacceptable.

Due to concerns about the flooding, local Powys County Councillor, Huw Williams had “called in” the application to be decided by the Planning committee.

This flooding issue has now been solved after the Welsh Government environment body; Natural Resources Wales (NRW) had their flood map for the area challenge by the applicants.

A Flood Consequence Assessment submitted this summer concluded that the site is not in a C2 flood zone.

In her report, principal planning officer Gemma Bufton said: “NRW’s flood modelling team have reviewed the information and agreed with the outcome of the challenge.”

Ms Bufton explains that NRW have now removed their objection to the proposal.

Ms Bufton said: “The site subject to the four bungalows is therefore not at risk of flooding.”

Due to this Ms Bufton advises councillors that they should approve the proposal.

A further sustainable a sustainable drainage system (SuDS) application will need to be approved before building work can start.