A NEW headquarters for Gwent Police has been given the green light, despite concerns raised over traffic issues.

Torfaen council’s planning committee voted to approve plans for the force to move to a new base in Llantarnam, Cwmbran, at a meeting on Tuesday.

The plans involve building a HQ and multi-storey car park with 432 spaces on two areas of Llantarnam Industrial Park.

The building will replace the force’s current headquarters of more than 40 years in Croesyceiliog, Cwmbran.

At the planning meeting, Cllr Alan Slade said he did not believe the highway could ‘cope’ with the development.

He said: “I’ve read the traffic appraisal and it says there are going to be some 190 cars coming out of there during peak periods during the evening.

“That corresponds to about half a mile of traffic on an existing already incredibly busy and congested road network.”

Cllr Fay Jones echoed the concerns and said she had witnessed several ‘near misses’ in the area.

But Paul Wheeldon, group leader highways of development and control, said the effect of the development on traffic issues would be limited to peak periods.

Richard Lewis, head of planning and development, added it would be difficult to prove that the development would make traffic matters worse.

Cllr Huw Bevan raised concerns about the impact of a security barrier on the appearance of the site and called the designs for the car park ‘awful’.

He said the car park would be “an eyesore rather than an addition” to the area.

The meeting heard that the designs for the car park had been revised to be more in-keeping with the area and were now deemed ‘acceptable’ in planning terms.

Cllr Jason O’Connell said he welcomed the development and urged councillors to listen to the expertise of the council’s highways team.

“I think it’s an excellent use of the site and Gwent Police should be applauded for investing in their facilities and for believing that Torfaen is the right place to invest in those facilities,” he told the meeting.

Cllr Richard Overton also backed the proposal.

“I recognise the major caveats regarding traffic volume and landscaping but weighing that up with the retention of 500 quality jobs in the county which would have a boost to the economy of Cwmbran,” he added.

Under the plans the three-storey building will accommodate offices and the police control room.

No blue light services will operate out of the headquarters though.

A 10-metre ‘security buffer’ will be in place between the building and boundary of the site.

But a condition to granting consent was that the exact nature of the buffer would be further explored so that it can meet both design and security requirements.

Councillors voted to approve the application after a motion was put forward by Cllr Gaynor James.