A controversial land deal in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) has sparked outrage, with critics questioning why taxpayers’ money has been wasted on repurchasing land that was once government-owned.
The site in question, formerly home to the Trecynon chicken factory and previously the Hover and Girling site, was once a major employer in Cynon Valley during the sixties and seventies. However, like many other industrial sites in the area, it was left to decline as industries moved elsewhere.
In April 2021, RCT Council purchased the vacant site for £1.02 million (inclusive of VAT) to develop a park-and-ride facility and small industrial units. The project is tied to the long-promised Aberdare to Hirwaun passenger rail service—an initiative that has been repeatedly used as an election pledge by Labour politicians over the past two decades.
However, the history of the land deal raises serious concerns. In 2012, the Welsh Government sold off the site as part of a larger land sale to private developers market value of £300,000. The land eventually ended up in the hands of Centre Developments Limited, which placed a charge on the site for £516,000 before going into voluntary liquidation in November 2021, leaving an outstanding financial burden on the land.
Despite the site’s clear importance to planned infrastructure projects, the Labour-controlled Welsh Government did not retain ownership or transfer it to RCT Council at a nominal price—something often done between government bodies. Instead, the council was forced to buy back the land at a significant markup, using taxpayers’ money.
To add further concerns, the land suffers from serious environmental issues, including flooding risks and arsenic contamination, which were already known before the purchase. A flood risk assessment had previously been conducted, highlighting the challenges of developing the site.
The questionable spending decisions come at a time when RCT Council claims to be struggling financially, cutting essential services such as school transport—forcing some children to walk up to three miles to school.
Residents are now demanding answers. How could the government justify selling off public land to developers, only for the council to buy it back at a much higher price? Why wasn’t the land safeguarded for future infrastructure projects? And why does this lack of forward planning continue to come at the expense of taxpayers?
With public frustration growing, calls for accountability are louder than ever. If decisions like these continue, it’s no wonder councils claim they have no money left for vital services.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/BR016840
ACQUISITION OF LAND TO THE NORTH WEST OF HARRIET STREET, TRECYNON, BEING THE FORMER MAYHEW CHICKEN FACTORY, TRECYNON, ABERDARE, RCT To receive the report of the Director, Corporate Estates, which seeks authority to acquire the Freehold interest of land to the North West of Harriet Street, Trecynon, comprising the Former Mayhew Chicken Factory site which is located in a key position adjacent to the Aberdare bypass road, to facilitate the development of a new railway halt together with a park and ride facility. Acquiring the Freehold ownership of this strategic site adjacent to the Aberdare – Hirwaun mineral line will facilitate the redevelopment of the land for future use in support of the South Wales Metro. This will achieve social, economic and environmental benefits for the area. The land offers the potential to provide a strategic access off the A4059 bypass enabling development of a strategic park and ride site to serve a wide area of the upper valley and A465 corridor and a new station to be created to serve local residents and businesses in the Llwydcoed/Trecynon area. (Pages 77 – 82)
https://rctcbc.moderngov.co.uk/documents/g50001636/Public%20reports%20pack%2029th-Apr-2021%2010.30%20Cabinet.pdf?T=10&LLL=0 There are no pages 77 to 82 just blank
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