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Land and housing development in Blaenau Gwent
Several years of retaining wall and anchoring work for Tai Calon Community Housing, on the high, steep ground at the head of the Valleys.
Developing land in Blaenau Gwent
In Blaenau Gwent, our record is in the ground that holds housing up. For several years we have carried out retaining wall and earth anchoring work for Tai Calon Community Housing, from Chapel Road in Blaina to the Gurnos Estate in Brynmawr and Hillcrest in Cwmtillery.
The same team takes land from bare plot to finished homes. For a housing association, a council or a private landowner, that means the retaining structures, drainage and foundations on a new scheme are designed and built by people who already know how Blaenau Gwent hillsides behave.
Tai Calon Community Housing has used our retaining wall and Platipus anchoring work for several years, including £300,000 at Chapel Road, Blaina.
Holding up the hillsides in Blaina, Brynmawr and Cwmtillery
Blaenau Gwent sits at the head of the Valleys, and its ground asks a lot of any building. Brynmawr stands between roughly 380 and 460 metres above sea level and is sometimes called the highest town in Wales. Cwmtillery lies in a narrow valley cut by the River Tyleri, with hills rising to around 550 metres, and the Ebbw Fach starts at Blaina. Homes here are often set into slopes, and the walls behind them age.
That is the work we have done for Tai Calon Community Housing. The largest scheme was £300,000 at Chapel Road, Blaina. We also worked at Hillcrest, Cwmtillery (£240,000, as subcontractor), 140 Mount Pleasant (about £100,000), the Gurnos Estate in Brynmawr (£45,000) and 9 West Bank, Cwmtillery (£22,000). As an approved Platipus earth anchoring installer, we stabilised walls and slopes with anchors, an approach Tai Calon says saved it tens of thousands of pounds.
A new housing scheme meets the same conditions. The borough is part of the South Wales Coalfield, so a site may need checking against the Development High Risk Area and, where it applies, a Coal Mining Risk Assessment. Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council is the SuDS Approval Body, and sustainable drainage on a steep site has to slow water down without sending it towards the homes below.
Planning policy is changing. In March 2026 the council agreed to prepare a Joint Local Development Plan with Torfaen, and the existing Blaenau Gwent LDP stays in place until the joint plan is adopted. If you hold land in Ebbw Vale, Tredegar, Nantyglo or Abertillery, we can tell you what the slopes, walls and drainage will involve before you spend money on a full design.
From the first site walk to the keys
- 1Get in touch and walk the site
- 2Prove the ground
- 3Get it out of the ground
- 4Build
- 5Hand over
Questions about Blaenau Gwent
For several years we have carried out retaining wall and anchoring work for Tai Calon Community Housing, including Chapel Road in Blaina (£300,000), Hillcrest in Cwmtillery (£240,000, as subcontractor), the Gurnos Estate in Brynmawr (£45,000) and 9 West Bank in Cwmtillery (£22,000).
Platipus anchors are driven into the ground and then load-locked, so they can hold a wall or slope with little disturbance to the soil around them. We are an approved Platipus installer, and Tai Calon says the approach saved it tens of thousands of pounds.
The existing Blaenau Gwent Local Development Plan still applies. In March 2026 the council agreed to prepare a Joint Local Development Plan with Torfaen, and the current plan stays in place until that joint plan is adopted.
Get in touch
Got land, or a scheme that needs delivering? Tell us about the site and we will arrange a call, then meet you there to walk it together.
“C&M Jones has consistently demonstrated professionalism, reliability, and a diligent approach to all aspects of their work.”
CHAS accredited · Approved Platipus installer
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