Chepstow plan for “much needed” young person accommodation

Plans have been submitted for “much needed” accommodation for young people leaving care in Chepstow.

The house on Mount Pleasant Road is currently used as a five-person bedsit, but housing association Pobl Group is planning to covert it into four-one bedroom apartments, with a communal garden room.

The apartments will be for people aged between 16 and 24 and will each have a kitchen, living space, bedroom and bathroom.

Those living in the moving-on accommodation will have previously lived at a care home or would be a young person that Monmouthshire County Council has identified as needing this type of accommodation.

The scheme has been proposed because the current five-person bed sit is “not fit for purpose”.

A design and access statement for the application says: “A number of the young adults whose need is for this type of accommodation are being housed out of county, which is neither preferable nor acceptable, given the very purpose of this type of accommodation is to create stability and positivity, which will be harder to achieve if tenants are sited away from their home area.

“This proposal is an opportunity to rehouse young people in their community in the right environment, providing opportunities, support and brighter futures.”

The development will allow residents to be more independent and the site will have an office with communal accommodation but will not be permanently staffed.

A decision on the application will be made in the coming months by Monmouthshire County Council.