What’s Happening at Penrhys Estate?

In recent weeks, parishioners have mentioned that they have heard that there will be new houses built at Penrhys, and are worried that this will impact the shrine.

The map in the first slide above has been shared with the parish by the developers, Trivallis. The green circle is the Statue of Our Lady of Penrhys. The blue border surrounds existing housing on Penrhys Estate. The red border shows the zones where new developments are proposed. It is that red-bordered area which is featured in the planning overview and planning report.

It would be very easy to misinterpret the published plans to think that the circular junction at the bottom is the roundabout next to the shrine. But that is not the case. The proposed short-term developments are at the north of the site, on the opposite side of the existing housing; nothing is proposed south of the main road.

There is also a long term plan for works up to 2037 recently published by the Council. This does indicate the land including the statue and ancient well is a key area for future development (shown in the second slide), but notes that some of this land will be used for leisure, tourism and renewable energy. RCT has been asked to comment on how the space around these holy sites will be respected in any future developments and this post will be updated in due course.

A more detailed plan (from page 375) of what might be possible was produced by The Urbanists, a planning consultancy, This is not an actual proposal by a building company. It shows the concept in the third slide and with a close-up around the statue in the fourth slide. The ancient well-house is just outside the red line of the planning zone. The area immediately around the statue would have the grass replaced by a hard surface and there would be heritage booths and/or commercial outlets (refreshment stands?) nearby. The drive into the existing car park would be extended to from an access road for new houses built downhill from the statue.

The Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia owns the plot of grassland surrounding the statue (roughly corresponding to the non-grass area around the statue’s base shown in the third and fourth slides). The Property Department of the Archdiocese has been in touch with the developers to assert that we are stakeholders in the development of this area.

Drone footage taken in 2023 shows how the land below the statue falls away steeply, with the fifth slide being a still of the last frame of the footage. Developments downhill – the proposed housing being at the bottom-right corner of the still – would be largely hidden from the view of those gathered around the statue.