Questions in the Assembly Wednesday December 12

In view of the opinion expressed by Jane Davidson, Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing in a letter to Ruperra Conservation Trust on 5 December, that the issues regarding Ruperra Castle were 'not of more than local importance', it has been very reassuring to read the questions and replies made in the Assembly on Wednesday 12 December. The questions were asked by the AM for Caerphilly Jeff Cuthbert and all the AMs involved seemed to understand the significance of the scheduled monument. Here is a transcript of the proceedings.

( The full report, in English and Welsh can be seen by clicking the link below:
http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-chamber/bus-chamber-third-assembly-rop.htm?act=dis&id=68668&ds-12/2007 )

Q2 Jeff Cuthbert: What discussions has the Minister had with Cadw and officials with regards to Ruperra Castle?

The Minister for Heritage (Rhodri Glyn Thomas): I am aware of the plans to repair and convert Ruperra Castle and surroundings to provide residential accommodation. My officials in Cadw provided the planning authority with expert comments to help highlight the significance of the monument and to help inform the county council’s assessment of the proposals.

Jeff Cuthbert: You may be aware that, at the recent planning application meeting of Caerphilly County Borough Council, the proposal to develop the grounds of Ruperra was rejected almost unanimously. Would you be prepared to look into the matter further with your officials to see if it is possible for any further applications for unsuitable development to be rejected, and for the shell of Ruperra Castle to remain as it is, and to be regarded as a historic ruin?

Rhodri Glyn Thomas: I am aware of the planning authority decision of 5 December, and, obviously, I cannot comment on the merits of the application, as the owner could well appeal to the National Assembly. I agree that Ruperra is a major monument, and that it is important to find a viable solution that will arrest its deterioration. Cadw ensured that the planning application criteria required those steps to be taken in any development. However, I will certainly discuss it again with officials.

William Graham (AM for South Wales East): Could you convey to your officials the thanks of many people, including me, who live within a reasonable distance of Ruperra Castle, for the splendid action taken by your department in pointing out the relevant legislation to the developer? You will know that this is an important monument; it is a late Renaissance building that, unfortunately, caught fire on Pearl Harbor night in 1941 and has remained a ruin ever since. It is significant in both its setting and its design. I pay tribute to your officials, who have been most helpful to those who have opposed the plans, and to the county council, which has come to what I believe is the right decision.

Rhodri Glyn Thomas: I am grateful for those words, William, and I will convey your sentiments to the officials. As I said, in these situations, Cadw works to protect our heritage. Hopefully, we are able to do that with all applications.

Mohammad Asghar (AM for South Wales East) : I understand that there are certain grant-making bodies, such as the Prince’s Regeneration Trust and others, that might be willing to assist with the renovation of Ruperra Castle and its outbuildings were it not in private ownership. Would the Minister be willing to discuss with Cadw and the local authority the possibility of taking Ruperra Castle into public ownership, provided that grants can be obtained to enable the purchase and refurbishment of the castle, in order to preserve it for the nation of Wales?

Rhodri Glyn Thomas: This issue has been raised with me and I will talk to officials about the situation. It is difficult when heritage sites are in private ownership. All that we can do in that situation is ensure that any development is in keeping with the heritage of the site and that all remedial work is carried out. However, I am quite happy to have that discussion to see whether we can bring the castle back into the public sector.

A Great Day for Wales!

At the planning meeting at Pontllanfraith this evening, Caerphilly planning councillors voted almost unanimously to reject the application for enabling development. The main reason throughout was that they did not want to see their heritage being swallowed up in a housing scheme in the countryside.

The application was 'deferred for refusal' which means that the Chief Planning Officer will list the reasons why the application was rejected and bring it to the Planning Committee again at the end of January for the final confirmation.

It was a wonderful experience to hear the councillors express their determination to save our national heritage and preserve the environment and all of us in Caerphilly Borough must feel that we are very well served by them.

Only four of us made it to the Penllwyn Manor afterwards. It was a quite horrible night, windy, showery and of course dark and it was good to see those who managed to turn up at the meeting at all.

We now have to think about the next stage, namely developing our scheme for consolidation and looking for financial support for this.

Caerphilly Councillors will decide on planning

The Welsh Assembly Minister for Planning, Jane Davidson, has not called in the Ruperra application. The planning meeting in Pontllanfraith will go ahead therefore and will probably be second on the agenda. It is best to get there as soon after 5 pm as possible if you are attending. We look forward to seeing as many supporters as possible.

Planning meeting latest

We have been told that the Ruperra application report is with the Planning Minister in the Welsh Assembly who was expected to make a decision on it today. However as we have not heard anything, we can only presume that the planning meeting will go ahead in the council offices as scheduled tomorrow evening. Please keep checking this weblog as any news will be posted here. Or you can phone 02920 885840.

Planning Meeting December 5 2007

Ruperra Planning Application is scheduled to be presented to the Planning Committee on Wednesday December 5 2007 at the Council Offices in Pontllanfraith at 5 pm. The County planners are recommending its approval with deferment for the completion of a Section 106 agreement to secure conditions. The Trust hopes that the councillors will refuse consent.

Once again information has been sent to each councillor on the planning committee, emphasising that 1. the scheduled status of the Castle indicates that the whole site requires protection on a par with Caerphilly Castle, Stonehenge and many other Scheduled Ancient Monuments. 2 consolidation of the monument as a ruin in a public park and garden could access huge amounts of public funding and is already applied to many ancient monuments. 3 members should not assume that the existing owner is the only possible saviour of the castle and should realise that his proposals are not an enabling development,but an irresponsible business adventure taking cynical advantage of the long standing plight of Ruperra castle. 4. the application is going ahead without Listed Building consent or Scheduled Ancient Monument consent or a full archaeological report

Ruperra Conservation Trust will be giving a presentation at the meeting and it would be good if as many people as possible could attend this meeting to show the strength of local support. If you hope to attend please would you check this weblog before hand to make sure that the meeting is going ahead. There have been so many false alarms. Also please try to arrive early.

Once again it would be good to meet up at the nearby Penllwyn Manor after the meeting.

Pat Moseley

Ruperra Conservation Trust