By Lewis Smith
Copyright walesonline
A renewed planning application for the site of a former GP surgery in Neath Port Talbot has been approved by the local council. The former Briton Ferry Health Centre located in Hunter Street was demolished after a fire which was believed to have been started deliberately in 2017. The site of the burned-down building has been described as being an eyesore in the years since with plans submitted to the authority to build a 40-bedroom nursing home on the land based at the junction of Ritson Street and Hunter Street. The development initially proposed the construction of a two-storey detached 40-bed nursing home that would occupy the majority of the land along with a parking area in the south eastern area of the property. S tay informed on everything Neath Port Talbot by signing up to our newsletter here . It was approved in 2019 though no work was ever carried out with concerns raised by residents in the community over when construction would start. However as of July 2025 a new application to reduce the number of rooms at the care home from 40 to 24 has been handed in by Squirrel Wood Properties and approved by the county borough council. It will also extend the deadline for work to begin for another four years alongside the planned reduction of rooms. A section of the application read: “The applicant proposes to reduce the number of bedrooms from 40 to 24. As such the applicant seeks to remove the number of bedrooms referred to in the description. “The reduction will necessitate amendment of the approved plans in terms of the footprint of the building and elevations. “The amendments also seek to remove reference to nursing home in the description and replace it with care home to allow a more flexible use for the end user.” The plans were approved by Neath Port Talbot ’s council officers as part of their delegated decisions made between July 24 and August 14, 2025. Councillor for Briton Ferry Gareth Rice said: “This latest planning application is a very welcome development. “It marks real progress toward bringing the site back into meaningful use and delivering much-needed care provision for our community.”
