PLANS to delay the creation of a new Bridgend link road have been approved by council bosses subject to further data being gathered.
The proposal relates to the Parc Tondu housing development which was approved by Bridgend County Borough Council in September 2020 for a total of 405 homes on a site located off Maesteg Road, Tondu.
The original planning application came with a condition that only 136 of these homes could be built before developers would re-direct Maesteg Road near Parc Tondu with a new mini-bypass.
This would make sure the local highway network close to the busy Tondu railway bridge junction and Pentre Felin retail park could cope with any additional traffic generated by the new homes.
However, a recent application handed in by Llanmoor Homes asked that these conditions be changed so they can start the new link road when a total of 235 homes have been created.
They made the request after an assessment showed the existing highway network could accommodate traffic up to the 235th occupation – which is expected by the summer of 2027.
Local councillors Tim Thomas and Heidi Bennet said they objected to the delay over fears that increased congestion could “significantly impact traffic flow and safety to and from the estate.”
They came alongside a further objection from Newcastle Higher Community Council as well as 38 letters of objection from members of the public.
Speaking at the planning committee held in August 2025, Councillor Gary Haines said residents would find it difficult to believe that delaying the road would have no impact on congestion in the area, adding there were “deep concerns” that the delay was stage one of potentially not completing it at all.
Others questioned the traffic assessment which took place on a single day in March of 2025, with Councillor Simon Griffiths saying he would expect to see more data from a longer period of time for a project of this cost, while Councillor Mark John said the report was one of the poorest ever to go before the committee.
Officers responded by saying that both they and independent transport consultants had been satisfied with the traffic assessment that was carried out earlier in the year, which was described as being robust and having sufficient data.
They said when it came to the developers commitment to building the road, technical drawings had already been submitted to the authority, which gave them comfort that the process was in place for the delivery of the route.
Following a number of exchanges between officers and members, a recommendation from Councillor Simon Griffiths was put forward to carry out a second broader traffic assessment that would take place over five full days in September of 2025.
This was agreed to by the managing director of Llanmoor Homes who was in attendance, with powers given to officers to approve the proposal if the data showed no significant difference when compared to the first study.
The amendment was later approved unanimously by councillors. While it was not specified what would happen if the data was significantly different, there were indications from officers that a report could be brought back in October.
