PLANS to build 32 homes on the site of a former forensic laboratory in Chepstow have been given the go-ahead.

Developer Charles Church will build 26 detached two-storey houses, a row of four 'affordable' terraced houses and two flats on the old Forensic Science Service (FSS) site in Usk Road.

The plans were approved by Monmouthshire County Council's planning committee at last Wednesday's (8th January) meeting.

Chepstow Town Council recommended the proposal for refusal on the basis that the site offers excellent opportunities for employment or services. They also said that the current infrastructure is inadequate to sustain the proposed development.

At a meeting of the town council meeting on 11th September last year, Councillor Stephanie Dovey, said: "We did a lot of work to try to prevent the laboratory being closed and I had hoped the laboratory could be put to purposeful use.

"This site bodes well for employment and services not just residential homes."

The town council also suggested that the development would add to congestion and traffic flow problems on the A466.

According to the biodiversity officer, the new housing proposal provides an ideal opportunity to create additional bat roosting and bird-nesting features.

Two letters from residents were received with concerns over the impact of noise from the demolition and construction on a nearby guest house.

The Chepstow Society was against the application, claiming its approval would set a precedent for more development along Usk Road.

Planning officers reccomended approval of the plans, saying that while up to 160 people were employed at the FSS laboratory before its closure in 2010, there are more suitable employment sites around Chepstow – namely at Newhouse Park and Thornwell, with both sites offering better transport links.

The report put before councillors also said the site was within the Chepstow Town Development Boundary and in-line with current UDP policy.