A long-vacant brownfield site in Bangor could soon be transformed after plans were submitted to build 24 affordable homes on the former Jewson site in Hirael.

The full planning application has been submitted to Gwynedd Council by Adra, with planning consultancy Mango Planning & Development acting as agent. The proposal includes 24 homes, a new access road, 37 parking spaces, landscaping and associated works on the 0.56-hectare site off Stryd Fawr.

All 24 homes would be affordable, with 18 available for social rent and six offered at intermediate rent – a lower-cost rental option aimed at people who earn too much to qualify for social housing but cannot afford private rents or buy a home. The homes would include:

  • 12 one-bedroom flats
  • 2 two-bedroom flats
  • 6 two-bedroom houses
  • 3 three-bedroom houses
  • 1 four-bedroom house

The development could provide homes for up to 73 local people, helping to meet continued demand for affordable housing across Bangor and Gwynedd.

The homes would be built to modern Welsh Government standards, achieving EPC A energy ratings through high levels of insulation, air source heat pumps and solar panels, helping to keep energy bills low for future residents.

Bringing a vacant site back into use

The former Jewson builders’ merchant site has stood empty for many years after its buildings were demolished and has since become overgrown.

Planning documents describe the land as a neglected brownfield site that has become a prominent gap within the Hirael streetscape. The proposed development would transform it into a landscaped neighbourhood featuring new homes, private gardens, public open space, cycle storage and biodiversity improvements, including native tree planting, swift boxes, bat tubes and bee bricks.

The site is within walking distance of Bangor city centre, Ysgol Hirael, local shops, leisure facilities, bus routes and the Lon Ogwen cycle path, making it a sustainable location for new housing.

A long planning history

The site has been earmarked for housing for more than a decade.

Permission was granted in 2009 to demolish the former Jewson buildings after the business closed.

In 2015, outline planning permission was approved for a development of 77 apartments across four blocks.

A revised scheme for 70 apartments was initially refused by Gwynedd Council but was later allowed on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate in 2019, confirming the principle of residential development on the site. However, the scheme was never built and the planning permission has since lapsed.

The latest proposal is considerably smaller, replacing the apartment-led development with a mix of flats and family homes arranged around a new internal street.

Meeting local housing needs

Planning documents state the former Jewson site is already allocated for residential development in the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan.

Adra says the scheme would provide 100% affordable housing, exceeding the council’s usual policy requirement of 20% affordable housing on developments in Bangor. The housing association says the development would help meet growing local demand while regenerating a long-derelict site in the heart of Hirael.

The application will now be considered by Gwynedd Council before a decision is made.

Application reference: C26/0454/11/LL.