Plans to redevelop Maes Emlyn site into Council Housing brought forward
Denbighshire County Council has decided against pursuing plans for temporary homeless accommodation at Maes Emlyn in Rhyl.
At a public meeting held on 3 July to discuss the plans to temporarily repurpose Maes Emlyn as emergency homeless accommodation, County Councillors and Council Officers heard from residents about their concerns for the plans.
Having listened to feedback at this meeting, and following further meetings with Officers where alternative options were explored, it has been decided that this proposal is no longer the best option to pursue.
Rhys Thomas, Lead Member for Housing & Communities, said: “As a Council, it’s important that we listen to the views of residents and while no decision had been made about Maes Emlyn, the discussions at the meeting clarified the need for us to pursue a different option.
“Our long-term plan had always been for the Maes Emlyn site to eventually be redeveloped into permanent Council Housing. Officers will now start the planning process for demolishing all buildings and redevelop the site to create a mixed development of new Council Housing for permanent homes.”
Denbighshire Council still has the challenge of providing suitable accommodation for homeless Denbighshire residents. Maes Emlyn formed part of a wider plan to provide temporary emergency accommodation in the medium term, allowing us to move away from the use of Hotels and Bed & Breakfast accommodation within the town.
The longer-term plan is to develop more social housing across the County to better meet demand. The Council will continue to pursue a programme of new developments to that end and to support this strategy, it will focus on early intervention with the aim of preventing homelessness, through to supporting those residents who become homeless. Officers will be working with the Salvation Army and other partners to affect this.
A pre-planning consultation for the new development will be published in the autumn where residents will have another opportunity to share their views on the new plans.
