A GOLF club extended its council owned clubhouse to open a bar and restaurant without planning permission.
Ten Bar & Kitchen has been operating at the former council-owned course since opening in December 2024 and now employs 10 full time staff and a further 20 par-timers.
But Llanyrafon Golf Club only applied for planning permission for the extension, and for change of use permission, in April 2025 just over three months after the bar opened at the Cwmbran venue shortly before Christmas 2024.
Both applications have now been approved by the planning department of Torfaen Borough Council. The course was previously managed by the authority but is now run as not-for-profit community enterprise.
Works at the clubhouse included adding a golf simulator, a bar and extending the kitchen to include storage and preparation areas. Decking and seating have also been provided outside.
Other changes include a dark, grey roof canopy, aluminium doors and windows and black and timber cladding.
Planning officer Mia McAndrew said, in her report, the extensions and alterations had “modernised” the building but said as an isolated structure on a golf course it doesn’t look out of place and though the extension had “significantly increased the footprint its low single storey height has been retained so it is not highly visible from Llanfrechfa Way.”
Ms McAndrew said it is possible to visit the golf club by public transport or walking and said: “Diversifying the offer of the golf club attracts more visitors and employs more staff, which promotes economic and employment growth.”
But a condition will tie the bar and restaurant to the golf club to avoid the risk of it becoming a standalone business and potential further development of the golf club site.
The report also confirmed there are 60 parking spaces at the club, with 51 being the minimum required for the bar and golf club, while a condition will require details of the promised three disabled parking bays.
Though the application form showed opening hours from 8am through to 10pm a planning policy compliance report indicates opening hours are from 8am to 5pm in winter and until 9pm during the summer. Ms McAndrew said there is unlikely to be a harmful impact, despite being located in a residential area, due to the distance from residential properties. Only one public comment was received by the council which was in support of the application.
The council also has a policy to prevent harm to neighbouring properties from “concentration and cumulative impact” but Ms McAndrew said while the club is close to the tea room at Llanyrafon Manor, The Crows Nest bar and grill and Llanyrafon Social Club, they are all “suitably distanced from each other to avoid an over-concentration”.
Other issues that should have been considered, had planning permission been applied for before work had taken place, included the loss of some trees and how work would impact the root protection zones of retained trees.
A biodiversity mitigation and enhancement plan was submitted with the retrospective application which includes new tree planting while an eight metre hedge and planting has been provided to mitigate the loss of green space the extension was built on. Further planting includes 420 saplings to make up for the loss of vegetation at the back of the clubhouse.
Though it isn’t clear how many trees were lost the documents provided were described as “comprehensive” and “explain the impact on green infrastructure to an acceptable level”.
The site is within a flood zone and while Natural Resources Wales had no objections it did provide advice for the applicants to consider.