A PENARTH mansion and former daycare centre will be transformed into new homes after lying empty for years.

Vale of Glamorgan Council's planning committee recently approved plans to turn Gardenhurst in Penarth into six apartments and allow the construction of three new homes on site.

The planned revival of the Victorian building was welcomed by councillors, including one representative for the local area who said it was a "shame" to see it disused since 2014.

A member of the planning committee, Cllr Ian Johnson said: "After a decade of being in disuse, I believe that we should look forward to this site being regenerated."

Vale of Glamorgan Council ward member for Stanwell, Cllr Mark Wilson, who is also a member of the planning committee said: "The reality is, this is a site that's been empty for quite some time now and really we need to make progress on it."

The council originally asked the developers for a financial contribution of £264,730 for affordable housing.

However, a viability assessment later found that such a contribution would make the Gardenhurst project unviable.

Cllr Wilson said: "I am a bit disappointed about the lack of 106 funding for affordable housing, but we all know that cost of materials now is very expensive and these projects have got to financially [stand up] and I understand that."

Another member of the planning committee, Cllr Anthony Ernest, raised concerns about the proposal to build three homes on the car park of Gardenhurst.

He also argued that congestion is already an existing issue on Marine Parade and Park Grove, but added that he supported the overall scheme.

Cllr Ernest, who is also a councillor for the ward that Gardenhurst is located in, said earlier this year: "I would very much like to see this outstanding property in the Penarth Conservation Area brought back into more beneficial use so that it can continue to be a prominent building in the Penarth Conservation Area."

Vale of Glamorgan Council planners argued that the reduction in parking on site can be justified due to its close proximity to public transport and the town centre.

A council planning document adds: "Furthermore, the highway authority requested a parking survey to be conducted and the results of that survey highlight that there is sufficient on street availability to cater for any additional provision which may be required as part of the development if the internal parking area is saturated."

Plans to change the use of the building to provide six new flats and three new houses were submitted in 2016.

However, several changes were made to the planning application over the years.

A separate planning application to turn Gardenhurst into flats was made in 2015, but this was eventually withdrawn.