Ruperra Castle

More Pictures of the 70th Aniversary

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This photo was sent in by one of our members Crispin Brown. If you have taken any photos of the 70th aniversary that you would like to be viewed, please send them to patjonesjenkins@googlemail.com or post to :- Areithin, Heol Ton, Ton Kenfig, Cf33 4PS.

Ruperra Castle Seventy Years Ago – a tragic happening.

2011-12-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

On December 6th 1941 when British troops were billeted at Ruperra Castle, an electrical fault caused a fire which burnt out the Castle. It happened on the same night as the attack on Pearl Harbour. In all the years since, nothing has been done to protect the Ancient Monument.
Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust commemorated the event with the help of some re-enactor soldiers and Home Guards. One of the veteran soldiers from the Castle, Mr Jack Senior originally from the Cardiff TA Signals unit, attended the event.
Participants watched a ritual burning of a model of the Castle at Rudry Parish Hall, enjoyed a buffet, which included spam sandwiches and an eggless cake, and then watched a DVD. It showed pictures taken at the time and voice recordings of some of the soldiers and local people who remembered the war years.
One of the Tyne and Wear Electrical Engineers who escaped unharmed from the Castle that night said in a letter, “We were very upset the day after the fire to see the place gutted. We had some beautiful parks up in South Shields but coming to a place like Ruperra with no houses around was really outstanding for us. I am very sorry to see that it has been left to neglect.”

Commemoration of the Fire at Ruperra Castle in 1941

2011-11-05T04:43:00.000-07:00

Ruperra Castle was burnt out on the night of December 6th 1941, seventy years ago. It was the same night as Pearl Horbour was attakced so it could not have been the Americans who were responsible for the fire as they had not then entered the War!

On this seventieth anniversary, why not come along and find out the truth from recordings of soldiers who were there at the time. And learn what has happened to the Castle since. Indeed- what is happening to the Castle now?

Singing in the Rain?

2011-09-08T02:43:00.000-07:00

Two events you might like to attend - weather permitting.

10th September Saturday - Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust will have a stall in the Rudry Country Fair. Midday onwards.

11th September Sunday - European Heritage Open Doors Day - a Ruperra walk at 11 am from the Carpark on the Draethen-Michaelstone Road, across the woodland to look at the Castle and walk the surrounding public footpaths.

Update

2011-08-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

Not much news I'm afraid - and after such a long time too.

Some people have already realised that Ruperra Castle has been removed from Savill's agency. We have found out however that it is now being advertised by Jeffrey Ross of Cardiff at the same price.

A cold wind blew in through the barn door!

2011-06-28T04:26:00.000-07:00

You'll be glad to know however that the hay bales kept us warm and we had a very pleasant and interesting evening. Our usual members faithfully turned up and also some people who had come specially to hear Mike Parker. He encouraged us to be proud of our Welsh Heritage and always to believe that it is worth fighting to protect Ruperra Castle.

We don't knowe where the pear trees grew that gave Rhiwperrau its name but we all enjoyed either the pear cider or the Peartiser on offer, as well as the lovely buffet.Very Many thanks to Anthony and Alex Rees of Home Farm for once again welcoming us to their very old and historic barn and arranginf the hay bales for us.

COME AND VIIT OUR STALL AT THE mACHEN SHOW THIS SATURDAY JULY 2ND WE'LL BE IN THE CRAFT TENT.

Getting Information

2011-05-22T08:56:00.001-07:00

To find out information about anything on this site, you can email patjonesjenkins@googlemail.com or telephone 01656 741622

Mike Parker comes to Ruperra

2011-05-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust

You are invited to Home Farm Ruperra NP10 8GG) on Tuesday 7th June
at 6.30pm to a buffet and talk.

We are very pleased to welcome Mike Parker the well known author who will talk on

"A (very) Rough Guide to Wales - and beyond".

which will include his experiences in doing the Rough Guide, the ITV Wales series that he wrote and presented (Coast to Coast and Great Welsh Roads) and his various books.

MIKE PARKER

Mike is the author of the bestselling Map Addict, which celebrates his lifelong love affair with the humble map. Amongst the many plaudits, the Daily Telegraph described it as an “excellent book on the pleasures of maps and navigation, which is also a withering attack on the infantilisation of the satnav age”. The success of the book led to Mike being asked to write and present a ten-part series for Radio 4, On the Map, which aired in the spring of 2010. He also contributed to the BBC4 television series, The Beauty of Maps.

His follow-up book, The Wild Rover, is published in April 2011. Subtitled ‘A blistering journey along Britain’s footpaths’, the book is a passionate celebration of our unique rights of way network, and an examination of its very chequered history.

In his adopted home territory of Wales, Mike has written and presented seven series of offbeat television travelogues, including the phenomenally popular Great Welsh Roads, which saw him and his dog Patsy comb the country in a camper van, searching out the amazing, the amusing and the absurd. He regularly appears on TV and radio, in both Welsh and English. He also wrote the cult book Neighbours From Hell?, a passionate polemic about the history of English attitudes to their nearest neighbours. He has also written or co-written ten guide books, including five editions of the Rough Guide to Wales, and occasionally performs as an actor and It was Mike Parker who included Ruperra Castle in the recent Top 50 Essential Sites to visit in the Welsh Valleys. We are very indebted to him for enabling us to put Ruperra in the Top Ten!'

The cost is £10 per person to include the talk and the buffet. Please print out and detach the form below and send to Miriam Rodrigues, 47 Talygarn Street, Cardiff CF14 3PS. Because of security requirements on the Ruperra estate and woodlands, this will be a ticket only affair so please include a SAE with your cheque made payable to Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust.

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Name------------------------------------------------------------------------------Number of tickets--------------
Address-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Email address----------------------------------------------Tel no ---------------------------In case of changes.

Amount £----------Dietary requirements -------------------------------------------------------------
stand-up comedian.

Energetic Helpers Needed!

2011-05-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

The local summer fair season is approaching and we can raise money on the Trust Ruperra Castle stall.

Please let us know if you can spare some hours to help out. The dates we're looking at are Tuesday evening June 7th, and day time Saturday June 11th - for the moment!

You don't have to be young and healthy - just determined to help!

Please email me Patjonesjenkins@googlemail.com

Ruperra Castle Exhibition at St Fagans April 30th to May 2ud.

2011-04-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Sunday and Monday you can see a full scale exhibition about Ruperra Castle at St Fagans Museum. Entry is free and we will be in the Oakdale Workmen's Hall with some other interesting History groups. The History exhibitions are part of the Medieval 'Misrule ' celebrations at St Fagans.

Members of the Ruperra Trust will be there to answer your questions about the history and heritage of Ruperra.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Don't forget the conference Saturday April 2nd

2011-03-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

There is still time to book if you haven't already. For details phone Elaine Davey 02920 387384. The cost is £22 which includes tea and coffee and a light lunch.

Top 10 Photo Opportunity

2011-03-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

From right to left , Mike Parker, journalist and broadcaster and author of the 'Rough Guide 'series and many other books, Pat Jones-Jenkins and Elaine Davey from Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust, Roger Pride, Marketing Director at the Welsh Assembly Government.

How to see Ruperra Castle. Here are some maps.

2011-03-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

Now that Ruperra Castle has become famous, everyone wants to know how to get there! The truth is that there is no vehicular access on the drive at the back of the Castle grounds, unless you live along the drive or are delivering the post or collecting the recycling. Volunteers working in the woodlands for the Conservation Trust can also park on the drive by the south entrance to the woodland.

However - if you are a good walker and enjoy fresh air and exercise, you can park in the Coed Ruperra woodland car park on the Draethen-Michaelston Road and walk throgh the woods to the castle drive. The drive is a public footpath and you can walk along there past the gate into the castle to a little kissing gate and down a path at the side of the castle grounds and round to the south side.

You might like to stop at the Hollybush in Draethen for a meal or a drink and leave your car there while you walk up the footpath at the back of the Hollybush and into the woodlands and up and over the top down to the castle.

Good luck and enjoy yourselves!

Not just IN the Top Ten but SECOND in the Top Ten

2011-03-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

What wonderful news! Your efforts were not in vain! It was only the Ice Cream parlours that beat us and we don't mind that do we! More to come.

Ruperra Conference on Saturday April 2 2011

2011-03-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

A Welsh ‘pageant’ Castle and the steward to the ‘Earls of Paradise’ Saturday April 2nd
Hosted by the National History Museum (St. Fagan’s)
Sponsored by The Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust

Ruperra Castle is a rare example of a Jacobean, Renaissance mock Castle in Rudry near Caerphilly ('it belongs to the very small and precious group of buildings expressing in architectural form the cult of chivalry’ Mark Girouard).The theme for our 2011 conference is the ‘life and times of Sir Thomas Morgan, builder of Ruperra Castle’. The venue is the Oakdale Workmen’s Institute (capacity 100) at the National History Museum, Cardiff
Many of you will know of our long running campaign to secure this important site for the nation.(‘it is an outstanding example of the nostalgia for the chivalric past felt in the early c17, even as Inigo Jones was rooting classicism in Britain’ John Newman )
We have some very notable supporters, some of whom will be speaking at this event.

10.30 gather for tea /coffee
10.50 Welcome by Dr. Gerallt Nash, Senior Curator
11.00 -11.45 Prof. J.G.Jones – Sir Thomas Morgan, steward to William 3rd Earl of Pembroke
11.50 -12.35 Sara Huws -‘Cosmopolitan Cymru’
12.40 Elaine Davey- Dr John Dee ‘Welsh wizard and British Empire’
1.00 - 2.00 light lunch (sandwiches, crisps and fruit + tea/coffee)

Introduction to the afternoon speakers (Janet Wilding Chair RCPT.)
2.05 -2.50 Richard Suggett from the RCAHMW and ‘Hidden Histories’- Ruperra Castle and Renaissance architecture.
2.55-3.40 Peter Reynolds -the music of Byrd, Monteverdi, Sweelinck etc. and, of course, Wales's own Robert ap Huw)

Vote of thanks by Cdr. John Curteis (President R.C.P.T.)

Price £22.00 to include refreshments
Tickets on a first come, first served basis-to apply for tickets contact; DaveyE1@cardiff.ac.uk or phone 02920 387384. Return slip to; E.Davey, 37 Romilly Rd., Cardiff CF5 1FJ

Booking form for ‘A Welsh ‘pageant’ Castle and the steward to the ‘Earls of Paradise’

I wish to book……………………………...place/s at a cost of £22.00 per person payable now.
I enclose a cheque for …………………..made payable to R.C.P.T. I enclose a large s.a.e. for a map/receipt………………………..……………………………………………………………..
Name…………………………………………..Address………………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………….Tel.No……….…………………………………….email………………………………………………………

Voting Papers Go In

2011-02-02T05:41:00.000-08:00

Those who responded by signing and collecting other people's signatures for the Top 50 Valleys project, will be pleased to know that around 350 votes were send in on the 31st January.

We don't knoe how many of you voted on line of course - except for those people who told me they had! -so we'll have to keep our fingers crossed that our concerted efforts will have got Ruperra Castle into the Top 10

To all who voted - many many thanks!

Just click to vote now!

2011-01-13T02:53:00.000-08:00

The link below is now working properly. Go to the link BELOW the poster You can just click on it and you get to the site. Then click on Top 50 to vote.

If you haven't already voted, now's your chance. And tell everybody about it ! At the moment we think Ruperra Castle is the most important building in South Wales !! Don't you?

A reminder to vote !!

2011-01-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

Here is our latest poster ! This is to remind you to vote if you haven't already done so ! Just click the link below:
http://www.thevalleys.co.uk/site/top-50/vote-for-your-favourite

Ruperra Castle and the Rough Guide!

2010-12-24T07:29:00.000-08:00

Good news! Ruperra Castle has been listed as one of the Top 50 Valleys Essentials!

The Valleys Heart and Soul Campaign has been working with Rough Guide author Mike Parker to create a list of the Top 50 Valleys Essentials, which includes must-see heritage attractions, unmissable eateries and events and scenic walks across The Valleys, spanning from Kidwelly in the west to Pontypool in the East,

Ruperra Castle has been chosen by Mike Parker as one of the Top 50 Valleys Essentials. The next part of our campaign is to encourage people in Wales to vote for their favourite from Mike Parker’s Top 50 unranked list on http://www.thevalleys.co.uk/site/top-50/vote-for-your-favourite to determine the ultimate Top10 which will then be used in a UK wide marketing campaign to promote the valleys as a top tourism destination for 2011.

This is your opportunity to really champion Ruperra Castle as a Valleys Essential. We are up against formidable rivals for the Top 10. Please help - the publicity will be enormously important for Ruperra Castle. Persuade all your friends and relations and anyone else you can think of to vote for Ruperra too!

The final list will be revealed in March 2011 The Valleys 02929 764100

Latest news about the Castle
Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust has now collected enough money to pay for the business plan and for the District Valuation. Many many thanks to those who contributed

There will be more details in the New Year.

With good wishes for Christmas and the New Year from Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust.

Latest Total - another weekend.

2010-11-14T07:43:00.000-08:00

Things are slowing down a bit now but we have reached the £1500 mark and now have £1578. We don't want you to stop sending ! but we feel very pleased that by adding this amount to our bank account we will be able to pay for the District Valuation and the Business Plan.

Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust are holding their Annual Dinner at the Hollybush Inn in Draethen on Wednesday 1st December. The guest speaker will be Mr Dick Thomas of Cardigan Castle's Cadwgan Trust. The cost is £20 per person. The Trust's members have all been informed but non-members are welcome to join us.If you are interested please email patjonesjenkins@googlemail.com. for details.

A cheering thought for the weekend

2010-10-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

The total of your donations has today reached £1478. Any day now we'll be over the £1500 mark.

Friday's Total

2010-10-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

Friday 22nd - now £1325. Moving on steadily.

Another Addition

2010-10-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

The total now is £1095. Fingers crossed for the new week!

Latest Amount

2010-10-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday 16th October

Total now stands at £1,045! Keep it coming! And thanks to all who have sent.

A Very Pleasant Surprise!

2010-10-13T04:46:00.000-07:00

We have already received £885 since last week! I can't wait for the postman to arrive each day!

At present we need to get up to £3000 for current outgoings. At this rate it shouldn't take long. Watch this space!

Many many thanks!

Please help!

2010-10-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

This week, Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust has sent out requests for funding from its members and supporters.

There is no reason why this request should not be extended to those who are interested enough to follow the weblog and find out what is happening to the Castle.

Below is a copy of the request. We need fairly small donations now to pay for the run up to making an offer for the castle. All donations will be gratefully received!

Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust.

Dear Members and Friends October 2010

It looks as though the long awaited news, has really come at last! As you will have realised, notification of the AGM which included your membership forms were sent out before the important news of the projected sale of the castle had hit the headlines.

We now need to raise money urgently as a prerequisite to making a purchase offer, such as a business plan to give to the Heritage Minister as he requested, valuations to accompany applications to the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, as well as the inevitable matching funding.

We have long wanted a plan for Ruperra which would be for public benefit and not private profit. Immediately and urgently the castle needs to be structurally secured with scaffolding and a temporary roof. This would be at a minimal cost for the time being, enabling emphasis to be put on using the outbuildings, grounds and gardens to provide apprenticeship courses in building and horticultural skills. Other schemes combining with all that tourism has to offer, can be developed on the site. In ruins for 70 years, its rescue can be gradual and prudent, without putting a strain on the current national finances.

Historically, the Ruperra Estate always employed local people, training them and giving apprenticeships to the more promising. But there were always jobs for the unskilled too and no part of the estate was ever wasted. The glass house seen here in its present state and built nearly 100 years ago by Mackensie and Montcur of Kew Gardens fame, is still standing.

You will be notified later about the annual Christmas event, but in the meantime we would be very grateful – if you have not already included a donation on your membership form or even if you want to increase it – to receive any amount however small that you can spare so as to fill the coffers..

Please send your cheque to me, Pat Jones-Jenkins at Areithin, Heol Ton, Ton Kenfig, CF33 4PS and made out to Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust.

With many thanks once again for your faithful support over the years.

Details of the Castle sale.

2010-09-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

The sale details can be found on Savills website.
Savills Cardiff Properties for Sale.

The castle is described as a 20 bedroom property. "An exciting opportunity to acquire a Grade I listed castle."

"Situation

Officially recorded as an ancient monument and originally constructed in the seventeenth century as a status symbol for one of Wales's most influential men, an opportunity exists for a discerning purchaser to acquire a dramatic fantasy castle now in need of total restoration.

Description

Set amidst its own grounds of about 30 acres and positioned such that it affords panoramic views, this is an opportunity for a person of vision to create the Principality's finest residence, subject to the necessary planning consents."

In case anyone is confused, or perhaps the Castle has been upgraded overnight, it is Grade II* listed, not Grade I, although many architectural historians have thought that it should be Grade I.

Ruperra Castle for Sale

2010-09-10T02:11:00.000-07:00

The news we've all been waiting for. The castle and site have languished and deteriorated for 12 years since they were last purchased. Let's hope that the future will be brighter.

Savills Estate Agents sent press releases to the BBC, the Western Mail and the Argus on Thursday afternoon.

If 'Savills Cardiff' is entered into your search engine the sale can be tracked under 'houses' but as yet it has not been entered on the site.

The BBC entry can be read on
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-11245315

The Western Mail entry is on
www.WalesOnline.co.uk

There is no entry on the Argus site as yet.

Current situation at Ruperra

2010-04-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

It is nearly three months since any news was posted on this site. This is because there is hardly any news to post.

It seems that barbed wire now surrounds the boundary of the Castle grounds and it is to be hoped that this will make access more difficult for potential vandals until the future of the Castle is decided.

Some communication has taken place between the Welsh Assembly Government, Cadw and Caerphilly County Borough Council, but no decisions have been made about the next steps now that the housing proposals have been rejected.

It is unfortunate that the rescue of Ruperra has come to what seemed like a successful conclusion in the middle of a global recession. As soon as there are more grounds for optimism they will be posted here.

The Public Inspector's Report on the Appeal by Barakat Ruperra Limited.

2010-01-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

The whole of the Ruperra Castle Public Inquiry Inspector's report is now posted on the Welsh Assembly website. Follow these links:-
wales.gov.uk, click on 'English'( the welsh text is not yet available) then click on topics, then planning,development control procedures and decisions, then decisions made by the minister etc. With luck you will find Ruperra there! Good clicking!

Inspector's Summary of Conclusions in the Appeal Report

2009-12-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

Report APP/K6920/A/08/2078434
Here is the Summary by Public Inspector Mr A D Poulter BA Arch RIBA, of his Conclusions at the end of his Report on the Appeal by Barakat Ruperra Limited held in April 2009

Summary of Conclusions

144. I have concluded above that the location of the proposed development would not be sustainable, and that there would be significant harm to the landscape and the area's rural character. The proposed development would not preserve the setting of the listed buildings on the site, and would not preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Ruperra Park and Castle Conservation Area. There would also be harm to the important historic features within the listed stable and coach-house range. There would be conflict in these respects with Sections 66(1) and 72(1) of the LB Act, and national and local planning policies which give effect to those requirements.
145. On balance, I consider that the harm to matters of public interest that I have identified would far outweigh the benefits of the proposed development. It has therefore not been demonstrated that there are circumstances that would justify the grant of planning permission.
146. Contrary to paragraph 69 of Circular 61/96, the appellant has not provided sufficient information to enable the planning authority to determine the likely impact of the proposals on the special architectural or historic interest of the listed buildings and on their setting. I have concluded that it would not be appropriate to use conditions to overcome the lack of information in this instance. To allow the appeal in these circumstances would conflict with Paragraph 111 of Circular 61/96, which advises that the authority must always be satisfied that it has adequate information to assess the effect of proposed works on a listed building before granting consent. This conclusion adds weight to that reached above.
147. I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

Recommendations

148. I recommend that the appeal be dismissed.

Welcome News in Time for Christmas!

2009-12-17T02:45:00.000-08:00

At last it has happened! We have heard from the Welsh Assembly Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing. She has confirmed the recommendation of the Public Inspector that the appeal of the owner of Ruperra Castle against Caerphilly Councillors rejection of development at Ruperra, should be turned down.

More details will be posted here later. Meanwhile we can now look forward to a Happy Christmas and a successful New Year.

Many thanks for your sustained interest over the years.

A Letter from the Assembly but still No Decision

2009-11-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

In response to an enquiry from Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust, a letter was received, dated November 4th 2009, from Mr John Eliot of the Decisions Branch of the Welsh Assembly Planning Division.It says:
"The appeal is currently receiving urgent consideration but has taken longer to deal with than anticipated. However I can assure you that the decision will be issued as soon as possible and that your representations will be considered in reaching that decision."

Let's hope we can announce the result, whatever it may be, at our annual dinner on November 20th at 7 pm at the Hollybush Inn in Draethen. There are still some places avaiable for this event. The guest speaker is Dan Clayton Jones, chairman of the Heritage Lottery Board Committee for Wales. If you wish to join us please email Pat Jones-Jenkins (patjonesjenkins@googlemail.com) or phone 01656 741622 by Monday 16th November. The cost is £18 per person and the menu is below.

1.Our chefs choice of homemade soup
2.Chicken liver pate cranberry and orange chutney
3.Oriental vegetarian spring rolls sweet chilli dip
4.Sauté mushrooms with garlic cream sauce
5.Chilled Melon with red berries
******
1.Roast sirloin of beef served with Yorkshire pudding
2.Roast of turkey with seasonal trimmings
3.Loin of pork with peppercorn sauce
4.Mushroom risotto with pesto and tomato
5.Cajun style Salmon mango mayonnaise
6.Roast lamb with rosemary and red wine jus

Selection of seasonal vegetables and potatoes
******
1.Homemade Christmas Pudding with brandy cream Sauce
2.Crème brulee with caramelised pineapple
3.Belgian chocolate marquise roulade orange mascarpone cream
4.Panetonne trifle red berry cream
5.Honey and hazelnut parfait vanilla ice cream

Still No Result

2009-09-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

The latest news about the results of the Public Inquiry is as follows.
John Elliott from WAG has advised that a decision has not yet been made regarding Ruperra due to work load – Mr Elliott confirmed that he would look at this as soon as possible.

In the meantime Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust is carrying on with its normal programme of events, which is as follows

RCPT first AGM
Tuesday October 20h 7.30 pm Rudry Village Hall. Coffee and biscuits will be served. All are welcome. Post Code CF83 3DN

RCPT first Annual Dinner
Friday 20th November at the Hollybush Inn Draethen. Please complete and return the enclosed form if you wish to attend.

On going through the current membership list, we notice the names and addresses from other parts of England and Wales We are so glad that you have joined us in our common cause but also sad that it is almost impossible for you to take part in Trust events. Please be assured that your support is greatly appreciated.

The above is an extract from the current news sheet recently sent out to members. If you would like to become a member - membership is only £5 pa at present - please email patjonesjenkins@googlemail.com. Alternatively you can download a membership form from an earlier part of this website. If you wish to attend the dinner please email as above for a form and a menu.

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you. It is good to have companions in our long wait

Early September for the Inquiry Verdict

2009-08-12T03:15:00.000-07:00

We have been informed that there should be news of the results of the Ruperra Public Inquiry on or before September 4 2009. We will post it here of course.

A very enjoyable evening at Rudry Village Hall on August 1

2009-08-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

This was a successful evening, with over sixty people celebrating the first anniversary of Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust. Jant Wilding, chairman of the Trust welcomed everyone and Commander John Curteis, president of the Trust, made presentations to some of the expert witnesses to thank them for their appearance at the Public Inquiry. An explanation of the processes of the Public Inquiry was given and the Trust’s present strategies for finding a solution for the castle were outlined. There was plenty of food and drink - pear cider and 'peartiser' were again chosen as drinks in response to the name Rhiwperra - the hill of pear trees. After eating, the assembled company settled down to watch a preview of a DVD expertly produced by Tom and Monty Dart of Newport and narrated by Matthew Davies. It was entitled 'From Celtic Mysteries to Courtly Masques' and described the influences of Sir Thomas Morgan's early ancestors and his later experiences at the Welsh Earl of Pembroke's home at Wilton House, resulting in the bilding of Ruperra Castle..

As you will have realised there has still been no news of the results of the Public Inquiry. We will have to continue to be patient.

Ruperra Buffet Saturday 1 August - will we know the news?

2009-07-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

We have been told by the Planning Inspectorate that the Inspector's report has been sent to the Minister in the Assembly. We hope to know her decision by the end of July. Perhaps we can announce it at the buffet!

We are sure you will enjoy the buffet and the DVD. If you can come, don't forget to send a SAE for your ticket and a map of how to get to Rudry Village Hall.

No News Yet

2009-06-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

The seven weeks' deadline has come and gone and we have not heard the Inspector's recommendation for Ruperra Castle.
As soon as we have news it will be posted here.

We intend to have an anniversary buffet and DVD showing on August 1st so please keep watching this space for further details.

The Rest of the Public Inquiry April 22 - 24 2009

2009-04-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

Here is an article about the Inquiry published on Tuesday 22 April in the South Wales Echo.
To continue the week’s progress, (RCPT) Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust’s evidence and questioning took the whole of Wednesday, mostly due to the Appellant’s barrister’s insistence on wasting everybody’s time by quibbling, for example over the credentials of the expert witnesses, a process very insulting to professionals giving their opinions based on their research and knowledge The Inspector had constantly to request him to keep to the point.

Thursday saw the last of RCPT’s evidence and questioning and Cadw and the Ancient Monuments Society followed. RCPT’s Quantity Surveyor made a heroic effort to attend on Friday morning having been quite seriously ill earlier in the week. Again his expertise was questioned but he rose superbly to the occasion, causing the barrister for Caerphilly County Council to say in his closing submissions later that he would much prefer to trust the Q S’s financial calculations than those of the Appellant’s financial adviser.

The rest of Friday morning was taken up with sending for the Appellant’s solicitor to attend to verify that the Appellant’s Company which had signed the agreement with the County Council for the Section 106 Conditions, did in fact still exist. The Inspector then proceeded as quickly as possible through the Conditions.

Then an application for costs was put in by the Appellant’s barrister claiming that his client had been led to believe that both the Local Authority and Cadw had been in favour of the housing proposals which had been turned down by the Planning Councillors through the lobbying of a small group. Again the Council’s barrister replied that the reasons for refusal had been on planning grounds in accordance with the County Council’s Unitary Development Policy and that this was how democracy worked. Members of RCPT will surely be glad to hear that the Council’s barrister also said the ‘small lobbying group’ was not simply a local pressure group but a well established Charitable Trust who had gained the support of five national experts to appear for them.

He also said that the Appellant’s agent could have put together the same expert team as RCPT had, to prove their case. The agent had not required the attendance of the Appellant’s architect, structural engineer or financial adviser to give evidence. He said that it 'beggared belief that the Appellant could now put in such a claim for costs.’

Although the Appellant’s barrister had typed up and photocopied his request for costs from the County Council in good time, he had not, unlike all the other barristers and advocates prepared his final statement in time for the last session and had to give the Inspector a handwritten copy. And throughout the week while complaining that he had not received various documents from other participants, did not in fact provide at the right time, several that the Inspector had particularly asked for.

The whole week was extremely interesting and indeed entertaining most of the time. RCPT were really pleased to see so many supporters. Many said that they had attended each day because it was so exciting and although not really intending to at first they had become so enthralled that they didn’t want to miss anything! RCPT’s barrister was superb and seemed to enjoy the week as much as everyone else!

The Inspector will be sending his report to the Minister in seven weeks' time. Then we will have to wait until she has made her decision. We hope to send out a more detailed account of the proceedings to the members of RCPT in due course.

The barristers/advocates of all the opposing Status 6 (6) groups in the Inquiry requested that the Inspector should reject the appeal and were united in their reasons, which we all surely know by now, but here is a list.

Harm to the historic setting and countryside
Harm to the setting of the listed glasshouse and historic gardens
Lack of detailed surveys in the application particularly archaeological
Introduction of inappropriate features on the site – tarmacked roads, urbanised gardens, street lighting, general fragmentation of the site.
No details of the design of the houses.
No programme for immediate remedial work particularly to the Castle.
The owner hadn’t looked at any other options except enabling development.

To finish, some memorable quotes –
The Appellant’s agent describing the proposed houses one each side of the listed grade II glasshouse to be like bookends supporting it.

The same agent describing the new ponds to the south of the Castle which will harm important archaeology as ‘two dimensional’ and therefore of no threat.

Ruperra castle Public Inquiry Timetable

2009-04-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

The first day of the Inquiry.

The Inspector stated that the main issue was whether development is justified under the English Heritage Enabling Development Document.

The barristers for each group gave a short submission and then Tim Stephens, Development Control Manager of Caerphilly County Borough Planning Division give his Proof of Evidence after which he was questioned by Mr Richards the barrister for the Appellant.The Inspector also asked some questions and Mr Stephenson the Local Authority barrister summed up.

Next Owen Banks, the expert witness for the Appellant read out his submission and was questioned by the Local Authority barrister, then by Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust's barrister, Caroline Allen, then by Rick Turner, Cadw Inspector of Ancient Monuments. Mr Richards then summed up for the appellant.

The session finished quite late, at 6 pm and the Inspector decided to start the next day's proceedings at 9.30 am.

Wednesday 22 April will be for Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust which has 6 expert witnesses and will probably last all day.

Thursday 23 April Cadw and the Ancient Monuments Society/Welsh Historic Gardens Trust will give their evidence and be qusetioned.

Friday 24 April The summing up and site visit by the Inspector.

There will be a further report later in the week.

Getting to the Public Inquiry Tuesday 10 am 21 April

2009-04-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a map taken from 'Multi Map'. There is a circle round the Council Offices. There is a train Station - Ystrad Mynach which is fairly near Tredomen. It is on the Rhymney Valley line from Cardiff Queen Street. Buses run from Newport to Ystrad Mynach. If you are not coming by car you will need to find out travelling times and whether you will have to change at any point. If you are coming by car and have SAT NAV, the post code is CF82 7BF. Good luck and hope to see you there!

Getting ready for the Public Inquiry April 21-24 2009

2009-04-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

As you may already know, Caerphilly County Borough Councillors rejected housing proposals for Ruperra Castle in December 2007. The owner of the Castle appealed against the decision to the Welsh Assembly Government in June 2008 and a Public Inquiry will be held starting on Tuesday April 21st 2009 at 10 am and possibly will last for four or five days.

Because Ruperra is a very important site, not just for us locally but for the whole of Wales and the UK, this will be a very interesting Inquiry with many experts from England and Wales giving evidence.

Five groups will be giving evidence. 1) the Appellant, Ashraf Barakat owner of the Castle,represented by Owen Banks, Planner of Llanelli, 2) Caerphilly County Borough Council whose barrister is Geoffrey Stephenson of 2-3 Gray's Inn Square, 3)Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, 4)the National Ammenity Societies, whose advocate is Frank Kelsall of the Ancient Monuments Society and 5)Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust, whose barrister is Caroline Allen of 39 Essex Street Chambers

Please show the Inspector that you care about your landscape and built heritage by attending if you can. It will be held at Ty Penallta, Caerphilly County Council Offices, Ystrad Mynach. On the first day the Inspector will announce a time table of which group or groups will be speaking on each day. It will be posted here with details of phone numbers to call if you want to know more. We are sorry but we won't have the details before the 21st

A map of directions to Ty Penallta at the Caerphilly Council Offices site at Tredoman will be posted here next week. For SAT NAV users the post code is CF82 7FN

The Conference and After

2009-03-06T04:43:00.000-08:00

The conference on Saturday 29th February was an extremely enjoyable occasion, attended by over 139 people and contributing over £2000 to the funds. Here is a picture of the audience settling in for the afternoon's session under the chairmanship of Tom Lloyd OBE.The programme of the day is below.

PROGRAMME OF THE DAY

10:00: Welcome : Commander John Curteis, President of Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust, former chairman of Ruperra Conservation Trust.

Introduction : Dan Clayton Jones, Chairman of the Heritage Lottery Board Committee for Wales, former chairman of the Welsh Botanic Gardens and current chairman of Prime Cymru.

10:15 - 11.30 : Adrian Cook, Architect & Historic Landscape Specialist : Chiswick House Gardens Site & Project Manager:
The Restoration of Chiswick House Gardens 2002-2007.

11:.30 -11:40 : Break

11:40 -13:00 : John Edwards UK Director:TKB Southgate Associates. Former Cardiff Castle Surveyor to the Fabric and Project Manager
Cardiff Castle Restoration Project

13:00 - 14:10: Lunch

14:10 -15:30 John Thorneycroft, Former Head of Government Historical Estates Unit of English Heritage.
Post Fire Restoration: Windsor Castle

15:30 -16:00 Prof John Gwynfor Jones, Emeritus Professor of Welsh History, University of Cardiff
The Morgans of Tredegar

16:00 Question and answer session and summing up chaired by
Tom Lloyd, author of ‘The Lost Houses of Wales’, former chairman of the Historic Buildings Council for Wales

The next event will be an exhibition in Caerphilly starting on March 19th. More details later.

Media Publicity on the week of the Conference

2009-02-27T03:30:00.000-08:00

Several local newspapers hve included an article about thr Grand Restorations Conference on Saturday 28th February. If you have forgotten to book, you can still come along on the day. (See the poster below)

Here is an interview with one of the speakers at the Conference, John Thormeycroft, reported in the Western Mail on Tuesday 24 February.

Ruperra Castle Conference February 28th 2009

2009-01-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

Two Dates for your Diary !

2009-01-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Two dates for your diary! February 28th and April 21st. Please try to keep these dates free! We need your support.

For Saturday February 28th Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust has organised a conference in Cardiff University called 'Grand Restorations' with some very impressive speakers. Details will be posted here very shortly.

On Tuesday April 21st is the beginning of the Ruperra Castle Public Inquiry which may last for four or more days. You will be given more details nearer the time, when we know what the programme will be.

Your support is going to be vital!

Anniversary of the Fire at Ruperra Castle : December 6 1941

2008-12-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

Ruperra Castle still lies in the same burnt out ruined state as on the morning after the fire on December 6th 1941. That morning the blackened timbers were still smouldering; now they are sodden with sixty seven years of rain. There is still another winter ahead before the Public Inquiry in April decides the future of Ruperra.

While you wait, and if you haven't already done so, you might like to get a copy of the book 'War and Flames' which describes events at Ruperra during World War II, including the night of the fire, told by the soldiers who were there that night.

Complied by Pat Moseley from recordings by local people and soldiers, the book costs £5.00 plus £1.50 p&p and can be obtained either by emailing patjonesjenkins@googlemail.com, or writing to Pat Jones-Jenkins at 'Areithin', Heol Ton, Ton Kenfig, Bridgend CF33 4PS.
'War and Flames' has now been reprinted and the book of recordings by the servants at Ruperra 'Serving under Ruperra' at the same price, will soon be available.

The New Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust

2008-11-05T04:09:00.000-08:00

Since this news page was last up dated, a new trust has been formed, by some of the directors of Ruperra Conservation Trust but separate from it. It is called Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust and is already a limited company (number 6656134) and already has a business bank account.

The new trust has engaged a barrister to represent it at the Inquiry because it feels that Ruperra is too precious to risk going into the Inquiry without one. On October 22 it submitted its ‘Statement of Case’ document to the Planning Inspectorate as have the other organisations who have been given Rule 6(6) status for the Inquiry. These are Caerphilly County Borough Council, Barakat Ruperra Ltd, Cadw:Welsh Historic Monuments and lastly a combined group representing the Ancient Monuments Society, SAVE Britain’s Heritage, SPAB (the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings), the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust and the Georgian Group. We can see now perhaps why the Ruperra ‘Affair’ could not have been dealt with in a one day informal hearing.(The Countryside Council for Wales [CCW] has now been removed from the above paragraph because they will be sending written representations only to the Public Inquiry and giving advice if asked.)

Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust will have four ‘expert witnesses’ at the Inquiry who will give their services ‘pro bono’. The barrister will kindly only charge for her appearance at the Inquiry and not for any work prior to it. She is very keen to represent the Trust and is a specialist in the environmental side of Planning matters as well as the built heritage. The Trust’s Planning matters are being administered by Caroe and Partners, Conservation Architects Cardiff.

Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust is unfortunately starting life with absolutely no money in the bank. All the money accumulated over the last 10 years by Ruperra Conservation Trust is committed to woodland management and cannot be used for Castle matters or transferred to the new Trust

We mustn’t fall at the last hurdle having worked so hard and come so far over the last ten years. We need to raise £10,000 to safely cover the Inquiry and the campaign, so we would be very grateful if donations could be made to the new Trust. Below is a membership form which can be printed out by highlighting it and then choosing ‘selection’ on your print menu. However it must be pointed out that you do not have to become a member to make a donation! Furthermore if you are a tax payer, and willing to have your donation increased by Gift Aid please tick the Gift Aid box, since Gift Aid increases the amount you give by 28p in the £ with no extra cost to yourself.

A last word: we must never forget the dedication of the Caerphilly Councillors on the Planning Committee in December 07 who really understood and appreciated their responsibility for protecting our heritage at Ruperra. They gave us hope for the future and together we can succeed.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM (PLEASE COMPLETE IN BLOCK CAPITALS}
Name (1 membership subscription per family)
Address

Post code
Tel No. Email address

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE £ 5.00
DONATION £
TOTAL £
Please tick____if you wish your payments to be included for gift aid, make your cheque payable to Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust and send with this form to
Martyn Vaughan, 6 Squires Gate , Newport, Gwent NP10 0BP
Thank you for your support

The Welsh Assembly takes over Jurisdiction

2008-10-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

A spokesperson for the Planning Inspectorate has made the following statement.
" ....under the authority of the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, one of the Welsh Ministers who has been allocated this function, I hereby decree that the above appeal shall be determined by the Welsh Ministers. This means that instead of writing a decision the Inspector will prepare a report, which will be forwarded to the Welsh Ministers for decision.
The reason for this is because the proposed development raises issues of more than local importance."

The new Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust, as distinct from Ruperra Consetrvation Trust, has been given Rule 6 Status which estblishes that it will be able to be representaed along with other organisations at the Public Inquiry on April 21 2009. The date for sending in submissions for this has been extended to October 22.
Members of the public may still send in their comments about the appeal if wished and email is welcomed.

Public Inquiry for Ruperra Castle

2008-08-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

The Planning Inspectorate has rescheduled the Planning Hearing for the Ruperra Castle appeal. The previous arrangements for an Informal Hearing have been cancelled. There will now be a Public Inquiry held on 21 April 2009 at 10 am at the Council Chamber, Ty Penallta. Tredomen, Ystrad Mynach

Lawrence Burr of Cadw has issued the following comment.

"PINS has rescheduled the date of the hearing (now
changed in status to a Public Inquiry) to 21 April 2009. Cadw will be
presenting a Statement to PINS about the significance of Ruperra and the
effect of the proposed development upon the monument, its surrounding
registered garden and the other designated assets on site - such as the
listed buildings and conservation area. This will be to help guide the
Inspector's assessment of the planning application. I cannot of course
speculate as to the Inquiry's findings but Cadw's contribution - and that of
others too I am sure - will help to provide the Inspector with a full
understanding of the monument and its significance."

More information will be pasted as soon as it comes in.

Appeal set for November 11 2008

2008-08-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

As most people will know, Mr Barakat has appealed against the refusal of the County Councillors to permit housing development at the Castle.

The deadline for writing in to support the councillors’ decision was August 13th. Many people have said that they achieved this and there has been a move to ask the Planning Inspectorate to hold a Public Inquiry instead of a Public Hearing. Hearings often deal with a subject in a day or even a morning which in some people's opinion is not felt to be good enough for a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Listed Building of Ruperra’s importance. This is particularly not good enough when the owner took so long to prepare his application and neglected and damaged the buildings in the meantime without making any repairs during his ten years of ownership.

The Hearing is set for November 11. If the Inspector decides to call an Inquiry, the date may be changed. Information will be posted on the weblog www.ruperracastle.blogspot.com The letters that have been sent in to the Planning Inspectorate will be available for public viewing in due course at the Council Offices in Pontllanfraith.

Contacting the Planning Inspectorate

2008-07-08T04:38:00.000-07:00

The Planning Inspectorate in Cardiff has confirmed that an informal hearing is intended for the Ruperra Castle appeal. As yet there is no date given for the hearing. Caerphilly County Borough Council Planning Divsion is sending letters to those people who wrote in to the Council with objections last year telling them that their objections will be forwarded. However those who wrote in as well as those who didn't can now write to or email the Planning Inspectorate. The address is
The Planning Inspectorate
Crown Buildings
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ
and the reference number which you can quote is
Ref.No. APP / K6920 / A108 / 2078434

You can also email : wales@pins.gsi.gov.uk and use the same reference number.
It is very important that as many people as possible contact the Inspectorate so that the Inspector will realise what an important place Ruperra occupies in Our heritage. It is also important that you do this as soon as possible. Although there are six weeks from July 2nd (which runs to August 13) to send in your comments, the earlier the Inspector understands the situation the better.
Most people know exactly how they feel about the propsed housong at Ruperra but here are some reminders of what you could say.
The building is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and therefore of national importance on a par with Caerphilly Castle. It is a Listed Building which is protected by planning legislation in Caerphilly Council's Unitary Development Plan against inappropriate development. It is in a Conservation Area which is protected similarly in the UDP against housing in the countryside. The housing proposal would create a suburban settlement in the middle of the countryside and would destroy the historic setting of the very building, unique in Wales, which it proposes to save. And so on.

We will keep you updated on developments, but please write in as sson as you can.

Appeal against the Planning Refusal has been submitted

2008-06-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

The owner of Ruperra Castle whose application for housing at Ruperra Castle was rejected by the Planning Committee of Councillors at Caerphilly County Borough Council, submitted an appeal against the decision on Monday 23 June. 2008

At present he has applied for a 'hearing' which would mean a Public Inspector led discusion. This is more complicated than a written representation case but not as formal as a public inquiry with cross questioning of wirnesses by barristers.

The Planning Inspectorate is currently looking at the documents relating to the case. They will decide whether it will be upgraded to a full public inquiry.

Further information will be posted here as soon as it is known.

Good news and bad news

2008-05-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-02-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

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 !

2008-01-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-19T13:58:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-05T13:44:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-05T02:30:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

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

The plight of Ruperra highlighted in 'Country Life' Magazine

2007-11-26T04:20:00.000-08:00

A very welcome article in Country Life magazine on November 22 by Marcus Binney, a journalist specialising in historical architecture. Ruperra Castle has been chosen for the main frontispiece picture in the magazine's article. I have extracted the text and put it below.

"In Wales, indeed in Britain, nothing quite rivals the desperate plight of Ruperra Castle (Fig 1). Like Lulworth in Dorset, this perfectly embodies Elizabethan and Jacobean ideas of chivalry and romance. But one corner tower has collapsed, another is badly cracked. The cost of repair and reconstruction was recently costed at £7.5 million, considerably more than could be realised from the eight apartments it would neatly convert into. A determined local authority would have served a repairs order long ago. The present owner is seeking to raise funds by building what amounts to a village on 20 acres beside the house. Cadw, however, could not reasonably approve this development in the shadow of a Grade I listed building. It is hard to see how this tragic case can be resolved without a determined lead from the Welsh Assembly.

Ruperra is Grade II* not Grade I, but it seems very significant that the writer with his vast knowledge of houses in Britain, considers it to be in the Grade I category.

The late Dr Giles Worsley wrote an article in Country Life entitled ‘On the Ruins of Ruperra’ in 1986, when he explained the uniqueness of Ruperra in the historical architecture of Wales.

“Somehow country houses have been seen to lack a Welshness that would make them culturally respectable. The RCAHM publication of the ‘Greater Houses of Glamorgan ‘ in 1981 showed how false that idea was and how incorrect it is to believe that Wales lacked architecturally important houses. The 16th and early 17th centuries are perhaps the most fascinating years in the history of these houses when Welsh tradition and English influences clashed. At Ruperra we see the triumph of court based architectural ideals, but the result is a house still marked by local tradition, a house that can be read as part of the Elizabethan and Jacobean revival of chivalry, but that gains added value in a country of castles, where many of the great houses of its day were still semi fortified, little influenced by the Renaissance.”

Ruperra is a magic place especially when approached from the urban sprawl of the coastal plain. The other great Morgan House, Tredegar House on the outskirts of Newport, was saved when it was on the brink and is now one of the great sites of South Wales. Ruperra, ruined but in unspoilt country, is its natural complement. The people of South Wales deserve to have it saved.”

Further news soon.

The Great Crested Newts

2007-11-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

We now understand that it is unlikely that the archaeological survey required by Caerphilly Council to progress the Ruperra application can be carried out before the Spring because the site’s great crested newts are hibernating.

The owner had commissioned a survey to provide the extra archaeological information required by the Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust, statutory advisory body to South East Wales’ local authorities. However his ecological advisers stopped the survey because of the presence of great crested newts.

The remark of one realistic observer that after they've hibernated, they'll be nesting, highlights the problems now facing the built heritage in the whole of the UK since the ‘windows’ for carrying out surveys, tree management and indeed archaeological work itself are being considerably reduced by the needs of certain species that are considered vital to the biodiversity of the world and are legally protected.

We understand that Caerphilly Council planners are hoping that the application can nevertheless be brought for determination at the Council meeting on December 5th, providing that the Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust agrees to there being no archaeological survey at this stage.

Why has it taken the owner so long (nine years in fact) to realise that if he buys a grade 2* listed building and scheduled ancient monument, an archaeological survey will be needed before his application can be determined? Those of us who value the Renaissance architecture, the site’s medieval origins and the registered historic gardens will now be even more fearful of planning consent being given and work starting on site before vital archaeological findings are taken into account.

Let us hope that Caerphilly County Council planning committee will ensure that pressure for the long awaited determination of the application will not lead to the absence and hence the discounting of the important historical and architectural needs of this most at risk historical site in the County.

We will once again inform supporters if the planning application is to come before the Planning Committee on December 5th

Ruperra not on the agenda for October 24

2007-10-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Once again, the Ruperra Castle planning application is not on the Caerphilly County Council planning agenda for the Councillors' planning meeting on October 24.
When there is more information it will be posted here.

Ruperra Application still not Ready

2007-09-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

The archaeological information needed to enable the planning application to be brought before Caerphilly Council next Wednesday 3 October is still not available. The next meeting will be Wednesday 24 October. You will be informed as usual.

In planning matters it is only the applicant who can insist on matters being speeded up. In this case the owner/applicant does not seem very concerned at the lack of progress.

While We Wait....

2007-09-25T02:35:00.000-07:00

While we are waiting to see if the planning application for housing at Ruperra will come before the County Borough Council's planning committee next Wednesday, 3 October, readers may be interested to look at the websites of the other two castles in Britain, built in the same period as Ruperra, whose architecture is of the same historic importance as Ruperra's, namely Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire, now taken over by the County Council as a public amenity, and Lulworth, owned by the Weld family but consolidated by English Heritage and now part of the heritage of the area.

They are http://www.wollatonhall.org.uk/ and http://www.lulworth.com/

Wollaton was burnt out in a fire at the end of the 18th century but restored soon afterwards. Its final condition when the family handed it over to the council was vastly better than either Ruperra or Lulworth, the second of which has nevertheless been consolidated by English Heritage over the last 20 years. On each site, amonst the necessary publicity, a history of the house can be found.

What contrasts - poor Ruperra.

Ruperra - The case for Consolidation as an Ancient Monument

2007-09-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a solution for Ruperra which would stop further deterioration but make restoration possible at a later date.

The case for Consolidation as an Ancient Monument

· Full restoration of the castle is simply not viable at present. The costing exercise for an enabling development carried out in March 2007 by the Spitalfields Trust, experts in this field, showed full restoration is no longer realistic. At £10M, the financial and environmental costs are just too high.

· 18 new houses could not finance the restoration of the castle. This can now be demonstrated. Over the past 5 years Caerphilly County Borough Council planners have been misled by the owner. Should he obtain planning consent - still without benefit of Listed Building Consent or Scheduled Monument Consent, his next move must be to make his profit by selling on to another developer who will face the same problems, waste more Council time and inevitably request many more houses.

· A Test for Caerphilly. This planning application tests the Welsh system for protection of our country’s greatest buildings. The councillors must show that they understand the importance of not allowing a developer to desecrate our heritage.

· The Lulworth Solution. Built at the same time, Lulworth Castle is almost identical to Ruperra. Also burnt out (in 1928) it has now been consolidated. Consolidation as a Scheduled Ancient Monument is a perfectly responsible, effective and entirely respectable approach for these great 17th century country houses. With public access to Ruperra assured, sources of funding could be Cadw, the Countryside Council for Wales, and two strands of Heritage Lottery funding. A new cost exercise was carried out in June 2007 by the quantity surveyors who worked on Lulworth Castle.

· A Low Carbon Footprint. Consolidation will mean minimal upgrading of services and access roads for Ruperra. Coed Craig Ruperra, owned by Ruperra Conservation Trust has public access and many visitors to Ruperra will walk through the woods to the castle. Compared with enabling development, the lightening of the carbon footprint will be huge. It would represent a commendably Green solution.

No planning decision on Setember 12

2007-09-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

The Ruperra Castle planning application is NOT included on the agenda for Caerphilly County Borough Council planning committee meeting on Wednesday September 12.

More Delay - what a surprise !

2007-08-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

The presentation of the petition to Councillor Christine Forehead on Tuesday July 31 was a great success. Over 30 well behaved supporters turned up at Llancaiach Fawr and after a while were persuaded to shout 'No housing at Ruperra Castle' and 'Save our Heritage' while Nick Palit recorded us for a T V broadcast that went out on BBC Wales on Friday evening. There were reports in the Echo, the Caerphilly Campaign and the Argus. The Henderson family of medival re-enactment volunteers supported us in their beautiful costumes - after all there was a medieval house on the site before the castle was built. Charles I - who attended the Ruperra Woodland Festival last year - was not able to be there as he was working in Bristol until 5 pm and Parliament was not willing for him to have time off.

Some of the campaigners went in to the building after the presentation and saw the petition being presented to the Leader of the Council. We have since learned that the application will not come to the planning committee on August 15th . The dates of the subsequent meetings are September 12, October 3 and 14 and November 14.

Some people have not properly understood why we oppose new housing at the castle. In the first place it is because we know that the proposed 18 new houses will not be enough to pay for the restoration of the Castle. This means that more houses will be requested and the peaceful countryside will be lost. In fact any new houses around the Castle will destroy its setting in the landscape. Houses like Ruperra were intended to be seen with a space around them. New housing will destroy the very object that it sets out to restore.

It is time that the Welsh Assembly took charge of Wales' heritage. We would like to see the castle consolidated as a ruin set in a country park. Parts of it can be gradually restored at a later date. It is a very respectable and sensitive way of conserving heritage.

If you would like to help in any way with our campaign, please phone 02920 885840 or email pat.moseley@btinternet.com for information.

Forthcoming Events

2007-07-29T04:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Supporters. Ruperra Castle Action Group / Ruperra Conservation Trust

We hope supporters who live locally will be able to attend the following events. For others, we aim to keep you up to date.

1. Presentation of our petition at Llancaiach Fawr at 4.30 pm Tuesday July 31st to our local ward County Councillor Mrs Christine Forehead who will then present it to the full Caerphilly County Borough Council meeting. A BBC reporter and others from the media will be there. Some people will wear period costume – please join them and make a colourful event of our support for our nationally important monument. Please ring 02920 885840 to let us know if you are coming.

2. We will present the same petition to an official at the Assembly at a later date. Please phone for information,

3. If the required archaeological information arrives in time, the Ruperra planning application may come before the planning committee on August 15th 2007 at 5 pm at the Pontllanfraith office. (Otherwise it will be the next meeting on September 12th.) Please meet outside the building at 4.30 and afterwards at the Penllwyn Manor as before.(See map) Before coming please phone to check whether the meeting is taking place. (02920 885840)

We need as many people as possible to attend these events to show the strength of public feeling. We also need people who live on the main roads in the local areas to put up signs in their gardens – No housing at Ruperra Castle. The signs are ready to be put up so please phone.

No Ruperra for 11th July Caerphilly planning comiittee

2007-07-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

Members of the Caerphilly County Council planning committee visited Ruperra Castle on Friday 22 June in preparation for the current planning application for enabling development coming before them on the 11th July.

Ruperra Castle Action Group sent the councillors information about the history of the Castle and its national importance as a scheduled monument. It was pointed out that the 18 new houses that the owner is requesting would come nowhere near to financing the restoration of the castle and that many more would eventually be requested, resulting in the destruction of the landscape setting and countryside.

The Action Group who have carried out a cost exercise for the consolidation of the Castle as a ruin set in a country park, explained that this solution would ensure public enjoyment of our national heritage as well as providing a much 'greener' solution than building houses in the countryside, with the necessary upgrading of services and roads and the increase in the number of cars.

Last week 300 notices were sent out to supporters about the meeting but by the weekend of July 6th we heard that the application could not come before the committee because some archaeological information had not been provided by the owner. These delays have now been continuing for 5 years.

So another 300 notices have needed to be sent out. After the meeting on the 11th we were hoping that all those who turned up would go on the Penllwyn Manor in Pontllanfraith. Apart from being quite near to the Councty Council Offices, Penllwyn was where Thomas Morgan who built Ruperra Castle, was born and brought up.

Hopefully we can do this when the application IS ready to come before the councillors. Maps and instructions will then be sent out.

The long awaited day - Wednesday July 11 !

2007-06-13T04:39:00.000-07:00

The planning application last submitted by the owner of Ruperra Castle in June 2006 will come before the planning committee of Caerphilly County Borough Council on July 11. Enough information has now been provided for this to take place.

It seems that the Welsh Assembly Government is allowing the correct legal process to take place, namely that local planning applications should be determined by the local authority.

The planning department in the Assembly has not yet seen the final report from the county planning department, but Jane Davidson,the new Minister for Sustainability and Rural Affairs has been informed of the timetable.

A briefing document is being prepared by Ruperra Castle Action Group for distribution to the councillors who sit on the planning committee. If you so wish you can inform your local councillor, or members of the planning committee, of your belief that enabling development is not the right solution for Ruperra.

Little Movement

2007-06-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

The Ruperra planning application did not come before the plannong committee on 9 May - we had always doubted that it would. It didn't come up in the 30 May meeting either. It seems that the unresolved matters still remained.

However it may come up on 20 June and if not on 11 July. We are watching the situation and there will be more news as soon as possible.

Wales now has a new Minister for Planning - Jane Davidson.

April 29 Ruperra Update

2007-04-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

As a consequence of the meeting in the Welsh Assembly in February when the Ruperra Castle Action Group was formed, the Spitalfields Trust was asked to work out a viable alternative plan for the Ruperra site, which could be presented to Caerphilly County Borough Council Planning Department. The initial balance sheet arrived at has only served to show the enormity of the task. The right solution cannot be found as quickly as we would have liked and work is now in progress to devise a satisfactory plan by studying and eliminating certain uses.

In Caerphilly County Borough Council the planning committee on which county councillors sit, meets to make decisions on planning applications every three weeks. We are told that Mr Barakat’s planning application for enabling development on the castle site will not now come before the planning committee on April 18th as expected. The reason is that there are still ‘unresolved matters.’ When the application was submitted in June 2006, it was expected to come before the committee in September. The next planning committee will meet on May 9th 2007 but we do not yet know whether Ruperra will be included. Prior notice is given of the applications to be discussed at each meeting.

From last June onwards many of you wrote in to the Assembly Minister responsible for the Environment, Planning and Countryside, to ask for the Ruperra application to be ‘called in.’ No decision about this has yet been made. After the Assembly election on May 3 there may be different ministers in post.

In the meantime we can only wait and be comforted that due to your support and hard work, questions about the future of Ruperra are now being asked by important national organisations who feel that the historic setting of the great house should be preserved.

Account of the Assembly meeting on February 7th

2007-03-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Over 300 reports were sent out last week to people that we knew were interested in our campaign to find a solution for Ruperra Castle - a solution which doesn't involve building new houses on its historic setting.
If you were not one of those 300 and would like to know more about what was said and what is proposed, please write for a report to Pat Moseley, Hillside House, Rudry, Caerphilly, CF83 3EB or email Pat.Moseley@btinternet.com
Please tell us something about yourself, who you are and what your interest is, since an email could be from hundreds of miles away. It's good for us to know where our support is from.

Press Coverage for Recent Events

2007-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to hard work by some of our helpers there have been two reports in the South Wales Echo this week. These can be seen on www.icwales.icnetwork.co.uk . There was an article about the exhibition in the Caerphilly Campaign this week. Many thanks to Charles Booth.

We now hope that the Campaign will publish one about the Assembly meeting on February 7th . Although the BBC Wales reporter and cameraman took plenty of footage on Wednesday night at the Assembly there was no item included on the Politics Show on Sunday. Perhaps it will be used at some other time.

Keep visiting the exhibtion at Caerphilly Tourist Information Centre and if you haven't signed the petition and written to your local county councillor, now's your chance.

February 7 2007 Meeting at the Welsh Assembly

2007-02-09T04:11:00.000-08:00

Wednesday's meeting at the Welsh Assembly was a huge success. As our sponsor, Jeff Cuthbert, AM for Caerphilly, said in his opening address, it was a new experience for him to be sitting in the Presiding Officer's chair in the old Assembly Chamber ! For the rest of us, it was good to be in the Chamber at all ! Over seventy people attended. A report of the proceedings will be sent to those who attended as well as to those who would have liked to.

Speeches by eminent people in the heritage field stressed that enabling development is not appropriate for Ruperra Castle as a listed building with an important historic setting and that a different solution is possible. A resolution was made to prepare a statement to this effect to present to Caerphilly County Council.

An interesting aerial photograph was shown by John Thorneycroft, illustrating that now the whole world can get close up pictures of Ruperra Castle by downloading Google Earth on to their computers.

The speakers were, in alphabetical order :-

Dan Clayton-Jones,
Chairman for Wales, Heritage Lottery Fund

Jeff Cuthbert AM
Member for Caerphilly constituency

Sue Essex AM
Minister for Finance, Local Government and public services and member for Cardiff North constituency

William Graham JP AM
Member for South Wales East

Thomas Lloyd, OBE
Author of ‘The Lost Houses of Wales’ and former chair of the Historic Buildings Council for Wales

Pat Moseley
Trustee Ruperra Conservation Trust.

John Thorneycroft LVO FSA
Former Head of Government Historical Estates Unit of English Heritage

Adam Wilkinson,
Secretary SAVE Britain’s Heritage

Oliver Leigh Wood
Chairman Spitalfields Trust

Latest News January 10th 07

2007-01-12T05:36:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately there is no latest news. Before Christmas, we heard that the Assembly call-in team expected the planning application to come before Caerphilly County Council's planning committee in the new Year. Then Cadw told us it would be in February.

It seems that all efforts to persuade the Minister to call in the application have failed. We do not yet have a definite date for the planning committee meeting.

Residents of Caerphilly County Borough Council are urged to write to their local county councillor telling them that they do not want them to agree to housing development at Ruperra. Names and addresses can be found on the Caerphilly website www.caerphilly.gov.uk

The Current Situation week beginning December 4th

2006-11-26T14:01:00.000-08:00

No decision has yet been made by the Assembly as to whether to call in the Ruperra planning application. The call-in team of planning advisers in the Assembly regularly receives information from the County Planning Division on the progress of the application. A member of the team has said
" The local planning authority is contacted on a regular basis to find out whether it has set a date for determination. Latest indications are that it may be presented to the Council’s Planning Committee in January 2007. The Assembly will contact the Council towards the middle of December to find out what the latest position is.

The Assembly would particularly like to see the Council’s planning officers report which will not be available until nearer the Committee date. In the meantime the Assembly will be carrying out internal consultations particularly with Cadw. "

Last week the well known architectural historian, Mark Girouard, whose books include those on Tudor and Jacobean country houses, wrote to Carwyn Jones, the Minister, regretting the lack of progress and comparing the fortunes of Ruperra with that of its sister castle, Lulworth.

Ruperra Exhibition at the Senedd

2006-11-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

The exhibition at the Senedd on the 14 and 15 November created a great deal of interest among visitors. There were speeches by the following AMs - Jeff Cuthbert, Sue Essex, William Graham and Owen John Thomas. Michael Davies, conservation architect of Davies-Sutton Architecture, who restored Cefn Mably and Sker House, also spoke.

Our local AM Jeff Cuthbert has received this letter from Carwyn Jones AM Minister for the Environment, Planning and the Countryside

2006-10-30T13:49:00.000-08:00

Here are the two centre paragraphs of the letter in larger print.

' I can confirm that no decision about call-in has yet been taken and that consultations on the matter are still ongoing. The local authority has told us that the application will not be determined until near the end of the year.

I will ensure that the points raised will be taken into account when the decision about whether to call in the application is made. I will also ensure that you are informed of the decision.'

Latest News October 17th 2006

2006-10-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Comments on the planning application of June this year, have now been sent in to Caerphilly County Borough Council by Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments. There is no further news.

As happens with all 'blog' sites, the beginning of the story starts at the bottom of the blog which by this time is rather far away and we ask the indulgence of newcomers to the site for having to make such a long backwards journey to discover what has been happening. We just hope it is worth the trouble.

A grid reference for the castle might also help newcomers to identify the location of the site. OS ST 219 863

Ruperra Conservation Trust's Objections to the Planning Application

2006-09-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Application Ref: P/02/0773

Proposed Development at Ruperra Castle, Rudry

The Trust objects to this application for the following reasons:

Summary of contents

i) The principle of residential conversion of Ruperra Castle has not been justified as no alternatives to secure the future of the Castle have been considered,

ii) The residential development around the Castle can only be justified if the residential conversion of the Castle is considered necessary,

iii) Even if a residential scheme is considered necessary and appropriate, the scheme as proposed is damaging and undesirable in historic building and environmental terms.

The Principle of Residential Conversion & Residential Enabling Development

The Trust remains strongly of the view that this site should be preserved, and the historic buildings it contains conserved, for the benefit of the public. This option has not been considered by the developer. No information (such as a financial viability study) has been submitted to demonstrate that the residential scheme proposed is the only feasible option available to secure the future of the Castle. There may be other options involving far less intervention, such as stabilising the structure of the Castle and leaving it as a romantic ruin for the public to enjoy.

The developer has only submitted a marketing appraisal and financial appraisal to demonstrate that the residential scheme proposed is viable. It is noted that the viability of the scheme appears to rely in part on grant funding. It is entirely unclear where such grant funding would come from or what conditions will be attached to any grant. If the grant is not forthcoming the development may not be able to proceed. It is worth noting that most grant giving bodies do not offer funding to profit making companies. Further, a grant of £1,000,000, as sought by the developer, could be enough to stabilise the Castle structure without the need for any residential development on the site.

Justification of the Residential Development.

The Conservation Statement submitted in support of the scheme is entirely inadequate. Although it deals with the issue of conservation of historic fabric it fails to deal with:

i) why the principle of an enabling development is appropriate in the case of Ruperra Castle,
ii) why this particular form of enabling development is appropriate (i.e. residential conversion and residential development within the historic garden setting, and,
iii) how the impact of the proposed development minimises the detrimental impact on the setting of the castle and the historic garden.

Until it can be adequately demonstrated that a residential enabling development is the only option available to secure the long term future of the Castle, planning permission should be refused because of the detrimental visual and environmental impact of the development.

Respect for the Natural and Historic Environment.

The Trust would strongly argue that if the principle of residential enabling development around the perimeter of the Castle is accepted, the scheme needs to be fundamentally reconsidered to ensure that the form of the development pays respect to the historic landscape. A starting point would be for the developer to commission a landscape management plan which would include a survey of the landscape assets. This would enable the soft areas where development would be least detrimental to be identified.

The current proposed layout still locates car parking and access roads adjacent to the Castle. A significant amount of open space around the Castle should be preserved. If the site access was reorientated to the perimeter of the site parking areas, associated services could be located further from the Castle, thereby ensuring the parkland setting of the Castle would be better preserved. Further, the scheme remains unclear regarding which trees on the site are to be preserved and indeed whether these are the most important.

The Trust is of the opinion that a scheme involving far less intervention to the historic fabric and far less detrimental enabling development in the setting of the historic castle could be developed. However, the developer has made no attempt to explore such an option. Until it can be demonstrated that such an option is unfeasible it is our view that it would be inappropriate to grant planning permission for this scheme.

Prematurity

It is understood that no formal application for scheduled monument consent has been submitted to Cadw to date. Without this consent any development cannot go ahead. However, the issues which need to be considered for both the planning permission and the scheduled monument consent are mutually dependent. The Trust strongly argues that until the scheduled monument consent has been submitted and properly considered (including seeking the views of all the relevant statutory consultees) it would be premature to positively determine the planning application. Of particular importance to considering the planning application must be the view of Cadw (on behalf of the Assembly). If Cadw is of the view that scheduled monument consent would be unlikely to be granted (as it indicated when the scheme was originally submitted in 2002 - letter dated October 2002) then it would seem entirely inappropriate for Caerphilly to proceed to grant planning permission.

Other Information Still Required

i) Given that the basis of this application is (presumably) to secure the future of the Castle (rather than just turn a profit for the developer) the Trust argues that further information needs to be submitted by the developer to demonstrate how this will be achieved.

ii) The Trust has always argued that any development of this important site should secure public access to the Castle and historic gardens. The location of the site next to land owned by the Trust, where there is full public access already, makes such an arrangement not only desirable but highly practical. No information has been provided by the developer as to what public access will be provided (if any).

iii) What mechanism is proposed to ensure that the developer provides all the benefits of the scheme prior to disposing of the valuable residential units?

iv) Also of concern is the future of the site after development takes place. What provisions are to be made for future upkeep of the buildings and landscaping not forming part of the residential units? There is a real risk that unless funding for their upkeep is secured at this stage their future will be uncertain. Assuming public access is proposed for part of the site it would seem unrealistic to expect future residents to entirely fund upkeep of the whole estate.

v) Finally, the Trust finds it surprising that no Environmental Impact Assessment is considered necessary in this instance, given the sensitivity of the location in both historic and ecology terms.

Conclusion
It is the view of the Trust that the revised proposals do not overcome the in principle objections set out in our letter dated June 2002 (copy attached). We do not therefore seek to set out again Council policies to which the development appears to be contrary. The revisions and new information submitted in support of the application do address some of the issues raised in the Trust's letter (e.g. the provision of a bat roost, deletion of the lodge, retention of the glasshouses). However, the fundamental issue of the principle of residential development of this important historic site remains unresolved. Finally, given the significance of the issues raised by the application the Trust considers that there are strong arguments for referral of the application to the Assembly for determination, in line with paragraph 4.12.2 of Planning Policy Wales.

The Trust again asks that the application be refused on the grounds of the detrimental impact of the proposal on the Castle and associated historic buildings and landscape. Given the considerable period of time the applicant has been allowed to develop his scheme since the original submission in 2002 the Trust asks that a decision be made now to refuse the scheme. The applicant should not now be allowed any further time to amend or justify this scheme.

Ruperra under Threat

2006-08-28T03:44:00.000-07:00

A new planning application was submitted for Ruperra at the end of June 2006
Here are some details..

The new Ruperra application is called the ‘amended’ application because changes have been made to the layout of the conversions and new buildings since the original application in 2002.

The application was submitted to the Planning Division of Caerphilly County Council on June 21st 2006. Members of Ruperra Conservation Trust received three sheets of road access plans and one of the site layout on July 10th. Until they phoned the Council for more information they did not know that a full application had been received. It consists of about 30 sheets of plans and elevations and four reports or appraisals. Comments were asked for within 14 days that is by 24th July.

Gareth Lewis, the case officer for Ruperra however has said that he would like as many comments as possible to be received by the middle of August and believes that the application will probably be presented to the Planning Committee in September. Comments are always taken into account however right up until the application is actually put before the councillors. You can see the whole of the application by visiting the Council Offices in Pontllanfraith, Blackwood

News on Monday 21st August 2006

2006-08-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today we heard that Carwyn Jones AM Minister for the Environment, Planning and the Countryside is considering calling in the applicaton for planning consent at Ruperra Castle. We have no idea what the outcome will be.

We do know however that several people have contacted Mr Carwyn Jones to ask him to do this.

Please keep sending your letters in if you have not already done so, both to the Chief Planning Officer of Caerphilly County Borough Council and now also to Carwyn Jones AM Minister for the Environment, Planning and the Countryside, Welsh Assembly Government, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff CF 99 1NA

Ruperra Conservation Trust's objections to the contents of the planning application are nearly ready to go on line. Keep watching this space!

Ruperra Castle.

2006-07-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Ruperra Castle : Synopsis

Key points
a unique Jacobean castellated manor house in south-east Wales
Grade II * Listed Building
Scheduled Ancient Monument
stands in 160 acres of historic parkland
overgrown with vegetation and deteriorating for over 50 years
until now, July 2006, a planning impasse since 2002

Possibilities
heritage: a potential Hampton Court Palace of south Wales
tourism: attraction which could be linked to other sites in south-east Wales
centre: venue for conferences, social events, fairs
media: film set
education: a valuable resource
employment: jobs created during refurbishment and afterwards
economic spin-offs: stimulate the development of associated businesses

Key events
1626
Completed by Sir Thomas Morgan, steward to the Earl of Pembroke
1785
Destroyed by fire
Rebuilt
1941
Destroyed by fire
1986
The officers of Rhymney Valley District Council recommend that the Secretary of State for Wales takes the castle into care.
1996
Ruperra Conservation Trust formed
1998
Castle sold to Ashraf Barakat
2002
Mr Barakat submits planning application to Caerphilly County Borough Council Planning Division. Much more information requested.
2005
November: Caerphilly Planning Division gives Mr Barakat 3 months to finalise application for turning castle into 9 flats, refurbish other buildings on the site, and building 15 new houses
2006
February: No application was submitted to the Planning Division

April: Considerable further deterioration is evident
Fallen masonry apparently removed from site

July: ‘Amended’ planning layout submitted together with a full planning application. Listed Building Consent will be applied for after planning consent is granted. Planning Division asks for comments by the middle of August although they can be accepted up to the day of the application coming before the planning committee.

Ruperra Castle

2006-07-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Photograph taken on behalf of the Building Conservation Directory by Richard Kenward ABIPP

The Current Situation.

2006-07-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

The Current Situation

· Ruperra Castle, outbuildings and 17 acres of land around it were bought by a developer in 1998 while Ruperra Conservation Trust, formed in 1996, was fundraising for purchase and restoration. Emergency work was desperately needed, one tower having already fallen.

· For eight years no remedial steps have been taken by the current owner. The stable block accidentally burnt in 1998 is not repaired even though it housed a breeding colony of lesser horseshoe bats - a species protected by British and European law. It was said that a tree falling on to the generator house has caused damage to a maternity roost of greater horseshoe bats - only the fifth known in Wales. A hibernaculum of greater horseshoes bats has been found in the castle itself.

Ruperra was designated a conservation area in 1998 but trees have continued to be felled without the necessary notification.

New drainage channels have damaged archaeological remains in the grounds. No enforcement or remedial action has been commenced by the Local Authority.

In March 2000 Ruperra Conservation Trust, now owner of the 150 acre Coed Craig Ruperra, made enquiries of Caerphilly County Borough Council regarding compulsory purchase of the deteriorating castle. In July 2002 the owner submitted a planning application to the planning authority which being accepted as valid, prevented further CPO progress being made.

Cadw’s objections to the planning application highlighted the owner’s disregard for its recommendations worked out in consultations over a period of time. The intrusive design and layout of the enabling development, and the disrespect for the historic gardens and landscape setting were emphasised. ‘The beneficial effects of the conservation and re-use of the monument and associated buildings do not offset the extensive and obtrusive development proposed.’

Ruperra Conservation Trust’s objections to the planning application of 2002 note the lack of a structural report on the castle, a nature conservation report, design details for the listed building, an environmental impact assessment or a conservation design plan. The owner was been given more time to produce these. Up until June 2006, only a nature conservation plan had been commissioned. Deadlines have been given but not met.

Not For Sale. The site was put on the market in May 2005 but quickly withdrawn. The owner has said he will ‘never sell’. Meanwhile the Castle is deteriorating: no one lives on site to protect it. In June 2006 a full application was submitted, called the 'amended' application since there were some changes to the application of 2002.

The Gardens - as they appeared in 1930

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The Significance of Ruperra Castle

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The Significance of Ruperra Castle as described by

The Royal Commission On Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales 1981
TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. We humbly recommend to Your Majesty’s notice the following monuments as most worthy of preservation….and the following houses now in a state of ruin. Number 29 Ruperra Castle

Cadw : Welsh Historic Monuments
‘The historic environment of the castle associated buildings and park are of exceptional importance. The castle is a scheduled Ancient Monument and as such is of national importance.

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of gardens and Parklands of Special Historical Interest in Wales.
‘The survival of an unusual early Jacobean mock castle of exceptional historical importance with its attendant deer park and structural remains of contemporary formal gardens.’

Ancient Monuments Society
‘Most castles are well cared for but not this one….which is sliding further into dereliction. The Casework Committee was very concerned by a scheme of enabling development.’
‘Ruperra is a test of the Welsh system for the protection of the country’s greatest buildings. If Ruperra is lost or degraded then that test will have been fluffed.’

The Georgian Group comments on the 2002 application.
‘…the setting of Ruperra castle would be significantly damaged by both the number and the location of the proposed new dwellings. It is also clear that the registered landscape would suffer significant harm.’

SPAB
‘Ruperra castle is a building of national importance to Wales and the whole site deserves care and protection of which the country can be proud.’

Sue Essex AM at a conference held by the National Trust and Cadw in July 2002 : ‘The Historic Environment 0f Wales – an Asset for the Future.
‘This conference offers an important opportunity to recognise and quantify the economic benefits of the historic environment. It is also essential that its relevance to people and its contribution to environmental and community regeneration is appreciated. However we must never forget that the resource is a valuable but fragile asset which must be protected and sustained. ‘

Dr Giles Worsley- Perspectives on Architecture.
‘Ruperra was one of the great Renaissance houses of South Wales. It’s destruction by fire in 1941 was a national tragedy, the neglect of the house and the park that surrounds it a national disgrace.’

Mark Girouard – architectural historian.
‘Anything that Cadw can do to protect the site would be of inestimable value. One does think of Ruperra‘s sister building, Lulworth Castle which has been so lovingly and skilfully restored by English Heritage.’

Professor Malcolm Airs : author of the Tudor and Jacobean Country House January 2003
'It is the most significant building at risk of its period in the whole of the UK and its continued neglect is an indictment of the effectiveness of the system for protecting buildings of outstanding architectural and historic interest.'

Further Details of Planning Application.

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There has been a great deal of new information submitted. In 2002 there was no structural report, no financial appraisal, no environmental appraisal and no conservation design appraisal. The applicant has not yet asked for Listed Building Consent from Cadw. At present he is applying for planning consent only from the County Council and when that is received he will then apply for Listed Building Consent. We feel that this is not a satisfactory situation for a monument as historically important as Ruperra but it seems that the procedure is becoming more commonplace.

There is a growing feeling that developers are being given a charter for destroying the open countryside. All over England and Wales our last remaining historic houses are being bought up, planning consent for a minimum amount of houses being granted, the sites being sold on at vast profit to much wealthier developers who then proceed with their legal and planning backing, to turn a delightful rural scene into an urbanised executive ghetto, covering the site with more houses and protecting it all with electronic gates to keep out the general public.

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Alternative Plan July 06 by Ruperra Conservation Trust.

Readers are directed to the restoration of Lulworth Castle by English Heritage over a twenty year period

1. Immediate and urgent
1.1 Castle - grants from HLF and Cadw and others. (Three separate structural surveys are completed and available)
· Scaffolding with a sheet roof
· Tie in walls, secure standing towers and remains of fallen one.
· Begin archaeological clearance and survey of the inside and basement of the castle.
1. 2. Out buildings
· Old workshops including smithy and kitchen greenhouses repaired and converted into education blocks for immediate use in conjunction with conservation work in Coed Ruperra which the Trust owns. Grants from relevant funders.
· Stable Block - convert into holiday lets either Bed and Breakfast or Self Catering. Grants from Tourist Board. Upgrade services. Stables on west side kept as hunting museum. Large ground floor room on east side converted into kitchens.(as during the war)
· Bothy Repaired and used as management offices with live in accommodation for caretaker to protect the site.
· Car parking – outside each block as needed during this time
1.3. Road Access
· For immediate work on site, heavy vehicles already use the drive at the back of the Castle. After this there would be negotiation with the County Council Highways Department bearing in mind that Ruperra Conservation Trust already owns the woodland which has access off the Draethen – Michaelstone Road.
·
2 To start within two years.
2.1 Castle
· Rebuild fallen tower, restore Banqueting Hall for receptions and other hiring purposes and connect to a usable kitchen – basement perhaps.
· Make basement suitable for car parking but separate from proposed kitchen area
2.2 Outbuildings
· Generator Block a designated bat house repaired with grant aid from the Vincent Trust.
2.3 Historic garden
· Listed glasshouses. Free survey on offer. Grants from Cadw and HLF to begin restoration. Employment opportunity and visitors pay to watch work in progress.
2.4 Enabling development
· South west of Castle are footings of kennels. Convert into eco residences either for sale or for holiday lets. New build of similar eco housing attached to a new wall around the southern edge of the parkland.
· Sewage works – Victorian, in good condition – reuse as septic tanks.

3 Future ongoing work possibly extended over twenty years to spread the cost.
3.1 Castle
· Ground Floor rooms - exhibition galleries, memorial museum for Welsh soldiers of WWII, (lacking in South Wales) conference and private events, visitor centre in one tower with access to the view at the top.
· Restore the cantilevered staircase as a visitor attraction and for access to one or two restored first floor rooms also with access from visitor tower.
3.2 The Grounds
· Gardens - restore as historical features – 17th terraces, to 20th Edwardian gardens Tourism and organic production. All aspects of historic gardens as a paying visitor attraction
· East of gardens, a wild flower meadow and tourist trail continuing from Coed Ruperra through gardens via the little summerhouse in the corner of the grounds.
· West of castle replant parts of the avenue of oaks, create sculpture park, restore deer sheds, tourist trail.

Contact your planning officer.

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Please make your views known ! Write as soon as possible to

The Chief Planning Officer
Caerphilly County Borough Council,
Pontllanfraith,
Blackwood,
NP12 2YW

For more information telephone 02920 885840