Revised plans for the redevelopment of the former Cardigan Hospital site to create new homes for older people, offices and public spaces have been given the go-ahead by Ceredigion County Council planners.

Ceredigion County Council had approved Wales & West Housing’s previous plans to maintain the original Priory House, believed to be John Nash’s first country house, as a focal point of a development in June 2021.

Those plans included 34 apartments for local people, new offices for Wales & West Housing, a regional base for its in-house maintenance company Cambria Maintenance Services, a public café and gardens.

Demolition work began the following spring, followed by ground levelling work, but construction was delayed due to a significant increase in building materials costs, a significant flood event affecting the car park, and in-house concerns about residents’ car parking provision.

Amended plans for the hospital site – which closed in 2019 – were then submitted to reduce the number of apartments proposed, from 34 to 20 one-bed units, with 20 residents’ parking spaces above flooding levels, and reducing the scale of the proposed Cambria building.

The amended plans for the redevelopment of the site were given the go-ahead by Ceredigion County Council planning officers under delegated powers last week.

Planning documents said the scheme “includes a significant community benefit in the form of a new café/ hub, designed as part of the upgrading of the Priory House, and which will become an important amenity for this part of the town, with extensive views over the River Teifi.”

“Although this application has made major changes to the 2021 consented proposals, there are advantages in planning terms, including a reduction in massing onto Pont y Cleifion; better views of the east end of the church from public viewpoints; the removal of plant from the roof of the office building and a reduction in height of the office atrium to the betterment of Priory House.”

A council planners report said: “The scheme will result in a significant change to the site, but one of improvement, with a modern twist and provide a multi-function in what is a highly constrained site to develop.

“The proposal results in a lesser scheme that the 2021 permission, and is not considered to have any significant adverse impact on the amenity of nearby occupiers with regards to overlooking, overshadowing, or overbearing, given the separation distance and orientation of the proposed development with nearby properties.”