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Important milestone as Rock Grounds development partner appointed

Rock Grounds grid - Copy

Cabinet has agreed to further progress the exciting redevelopment proposals for the Rock Grounds buildings in Aberdare. The Council has now officially appointed a partner to design, develop and construct the project, that will establish a quality hotel, restaurant, bar and spa at the town centre site. 

Proposals for the Rock Grounds site were first shared in summer 2023, when Cabinet initially discussed the proposals to renovate and redevelop the area. This will include utilising its existing buildings, preserving the historic Rock Grounds building and its features, maintaining an appropriate level of public car parking, and retaining the Keir Hardie bust. The facilities that complement the new hotel will be available for the community’s use, as well as for visitors.

The Council provided a progress update in July 2024, reporting that, following a procurement exercise, it was in discussion with a potential development partner. The update added that all council staff based at Rock Grounds had been permanently moved from the site in preparation for a redevelopment. 

The latest report to Cabinet on Monday, September 21, noted the Council has now signed a development agreement with Final Frontier Space Holdings Ltd, confirming their official appointment to lead the project. Their submission was thoroughly analysed and found to meet all the requirements in terms of facilities, services and quality. It shared the Council’s vision for the site, and recognised the need to make an economic contribution to the town centre.

The Council’s project team has held productive discussions with Final Frontier about progressing the design phase. An ambitious but achievable programme aims to complete the design, produce a cost plan, secure planning consent, and establish project timescales. Final Frontier will engage with the Council to secure a licence for the building, to enable survey and investigation work.

The report adds that a professional design team will be appointed to oversee the project through to a formal planning application – while the Council’s own project board will meet regularly with this team, along with the developers, to ensure good progress throughout the design phase. The agreed timescale for completion of this phase is March 2025, when a formal review will take place to assess the cost viability and the programme for the construction phase.

The current phases of the project are fully-funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. Financial details in relation to the development itself will be subject to a future report, and will likely require external funding partners such as the UK Government and/or the Welsh Government.

Councillor Mark Norris, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Prosperity, said: “I’m delighted that the Council has now confirmed its development partner for the exciting Rock Grounds project, following an extensive procurement exercise. Final Frontier Space Holdings Ltd is appointed to lead on delivering this development in partnership with the Council – a major milestone towards providing a much-needed quality hotel for Aberdare and the Cynon Valley. Importantly, the project will also include restaurant, bar and spa facilities which can be accessed by local residents.

“The development is fully-compliant with the investment themes outlined in the Aberdare Town Centre Strategy, which was agreed in December 2023 to set out a future vision for the town, introduce objectives, and identify areas of investment. A key theme of the Strategy is to re-use existing buildings for high-quality accommodation and restaurants, to enhance Aberdare’s visitor experience and tourism offer. Around 85% of the consultation respondents supported this approach to local prominent sites, such as the Rock Grounds.

“The proposal also conforms to our wider Tourism Strategy for the region. The Cynon Valley boasts some fantastic local attractions – Zip World Tower, Dare Valley Country Park and the Penderyn Distillery, to name just a few. We anticipate the new hotel accommodation will be very sought after. Not only will it encourage people to visit our attractions, but it will also help to increase the footfall within Aberdare town centre and provide a boost to local traders.

“The project will represent a multi-million pound investment for Aberdare town centre, bringing new facilities for local people and employment opportunities for residents. It will also retain the use of the prominent Rock Grounds site, which has become available as part of the Council’s Office Accommodation Strategy. Following Cabinet’s approval to progress the project, I’m looking forward to seeing the design phase being developed over the months ahead.”

Posted on 28/10/2024