Ruperra Castle

Good news and bad news

The owner of Ruperra Castle has still not lodged an appeal against the rejection by the County Councillors in Janusry of his housing proposals at Ruperra Castle He has to do this within six months of the rejection. He is said to be intending to appeal and has engaged planning consultants.

Meanwhile Ruperra Conservation Trust wrote to the Chief Executive of Caerphilly County Borough Council at the end of February pointing out that a County Council is entitled to serve a repairs notice on an owner whose listed property has been damaged during his ownership. Consequently he was told to repair the chimney of the generator block which has begun to lean. There has been no mention of the other two areas of damage - namely the wall of the ha ha and part of the roof of the stable block burnt in a fire in 1998. These three structures are listed buildings and as such are the legal responsibility of the Local Authority.

The really serious bad news is that on Friday 9th May, the Police were called to Ruperra because thieves were stripping lead from the remaining roof of the stable block. They got away before the Police arrived. Then on Sunday night a watchful and quick acting student out for an evening walk was able to get registration numbers and to phone the Police because thieves were stripping lead from the generator block roof. This time with the aid of dogs and a helicopter the Police were able to apprehend one of the offenders. We await the latest news.

There is no caretaker at Ruperra and the Police were unable to contact the owner who is believed to be out of the country.

To appeal or not to appeal!

Although the owner of Ruperra Castle had declared his intention of appealing against the decision of Caerphilly Councillors' Planning Committee to reject his housing application , he has not yet officially applied. Councillor Phil Bevan, the chairman of Ruperra Conservation Trust, has written to the Planning Inspectorate asking to be informed when the appeal is documented so that the Trust's wish to object at the inquiry can be taken into account in good time.

The Trust with the help of a panel of experts is meanwhile working on a future plan for the castle and is studying structural reports on the condition of the castle itself.

People are asking whether they shall take down the placards that they have displayed in their gardnes and windows. The answer is, please keep them there for a while until it is clear what is happening.

Success : Second Battle won !

Caerphilly County Council Planning Committee once again rejected the planning application for Ruperra Castle when it was brought back for ratification. This time there was only one vote in favour of the proposals. Ruperra Conservation Trust is delighted that the councillors have had so little doubt about using their position strongly as guardians of our local and national heritage. When so much beautiful countryside is being lost to inappropriate development, the people of Caerphilly must feel proud of the protection of their councillors.

The owner has made known his intention to appeal against the decision. He must decide within six months. Battle number three may be about to begin.

The voting took place at the beginning of the meeting so that the Ruperra supporters were able to leave very soon. So early in fact that when they went up to the Penllwyn Manor to celebrate, it had not opened and eventually they had to find somewhere else to go. So the birthplace of Sir Thomas Morgan of Ruperra has still not been properly visited. One day perhaps!

Planning Meeting January 23 2008

We now know that the housing proposals for Ruperra were rejected by Caerphilly Planning Councillors on December 5 by 18 votes to 6. There were 7 absentees and 2 unable to vote through conflict of interest.
The Chief Planning Officer will report again to the Planning Committee on 23 January when, although he is still recommending approval, he will provide planning reasons for the rejection and another vote will be taken. So it seems that it may still be a worrying time until the 23. If you are able, please come to the meeting at 5 pm at the Council Offices in Pontllanfraith. If there are any last minute details or changes they can be checked here.
If the rejection is upheld the next question will be the reaction of the owner. Will he proceed to an appeal which he must decide to do within 6 months or will he sell?

It was good news that on 16 January, Jeff Cuthbert, AM for Caerphilly, arranged a meeting in the Assembly with the Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas for a few members of Ruperra Conservation Trust. The Minister reassured us that he was fully aware of the uniqueness and importance of Ruperra in Welsh Heritage.

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.

Ruperra Castle

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Good news and bad news

Friday, February 08, 2008

To appeal or not to appeal!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Success : Second Battle won !

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Planning Meeting January 23 2008

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Questions in the Assembly Wednesday December 12

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

A Great Day for Wales!

Caerphilly Councillors will decide on planning

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Planning meeting latest