This long-empty building has finally been transformed
This long-empty building has finally been transformed
Coco's Coffee & Candles has recently opened its doors at 143b High Street in the town centre
Coco's Coffee & Candles is now based at 143b High Street, which was formerly the location of Pizza Time in Merthyr
(Image: Carla Anne Photography )
A new coffee and candle shop has just opened in what had been a long-term empty property in Merthyr Tydfil town centre.
Coco's Coffee & Candles is now based at 143b High Street, which was formerly the location of Pizza Time on the lower part of the High Street, and it was developed by Highfield Property Group along with grant funding of £730,000 from the Welsh Government's Transforming Towns programme which allowed the re-development of the property into a commercial unit.
Works included the demolition of previous structures with the full integration of new structures including steel supports, a new roof, internal studwork, boarding, plastering, fully renewed electrics and plumbing, new windows and doors and shopfront.
The blank slate created by this work then allowed for the unit to become a modern, warm interior, synonymous with the original Coco's in Aberdare, the council said.
There was £120,000 of funding received from UK Government's Shared Prosperity Fund's Property Development and Town Centre Grant which supported the kitchen fit-out, bespoke coffee counter and banquet-style seating. To get all the latest Merthyr Tydfil news straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter here.
Coco's Coffee & Candles owner Bridie Phillips said: 'Merthyr Tydfil felt like the perfect next step for Coco's Coffee & Candles. As a small family business, we're passionate about creating warm, welcoming spaces where people can relax, connect, and enjoy something special.
Article continues below
'We believe independent businesses like ours bring heart and individuality to the high street — offering something truly personal that big chains often can't. The town's strong sense of community and support for local enterprise made it an easy choice for us.
'We're incredibly grateful to the Welsh Government's Transforming Towns programme and the UK Government's Shared Prosperity Fund for their generous support, as well as the fantastic regeneration team at Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council who've helped bring our vision to life.
'We can't wait to welcome locals and visitors alike into our new space and be part of the town centre's exciting future.'
Rob Price, director at Highfields Property Group, said: 'Our redevelopment of 143b High Street is a perfect example of the vision we hold for the future of the town centre and this project reflects our commitment to delivering high-quality transformations of vacant properties.
'Our goal is to attract and collaborate with exciting, innovative businesses, helping bring their ideas to life and re-energising the high street.
'In the case of Coco's, we've been able to help Bridie expand her already hugely successful brand and bring it to Merthyr Tydfil's High Street. We're proud to do this in partnership with the council's regeneration team and Welsh Government
Councillor Jamie Scriven, cabinet member for regeneration, leisure and tourism, said: 'As cabinet member for economy, regeneration, leisure, and tourism I am delighted to welcome Coco's Coffee & Candles to Merthyr Tydfil.
'If you have ever visited the Aberdare store you will be aware that Coco's pride themselves on speciality coffee, bakes, lunch, and their fragrance products voted best luxury candle brand of 2023.
'Officially opened on Wednesday, May 28, Cocos Merthyr is a unique addition to our town's lower high street, with two floors of seating choice in a relaxed atmosphere with friendly staff, we hope you will visit time and time again.'
Article continues below
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business News Wales
4 hours ago
- Business News Wales
Natural Resources Wales – Supporting Decarbonisation at Pace and Scale
At Natural Resources Wales (NRW), we are clear about our purpose and priorities. As Wales' environmental body, we recognise that to tackle the nature and climate emergencies effectively, we must focus on three core objectives: increasing biodiversity and reducing biodiversity loss, helping to adapt to climate change, where the decarbonisation agenda is absolutely central and reducing pollution. Balancing these priorities is not just important, it's essential. Every action we take needs to deliver gains across these areas, creating a more resilient and sustainable future for Wales. What's particularly exciting is that Wales is already leading the way. There is a genuine appetite for change from industry, from government, and from within our communities. This momentum reflects a shared ambition to decarbonise at pace, and at NRW, we are determined to play a central role in enabling that transition. NRW holds a unique position in this landscape. While my title focuses on the commercial side of our work, our remit extends far beyond that. We are not only a statutory consultee and environmental advisor but also a developer in our own right. This gives us a wide-reaching influence, and we are committed to using all aspects of our role to drive forward the decarbonisation agenda. Crucially, we believe that economic progress and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive, they can and must go hand in hand. To support this ambition, we established an Industrial Decarbonisation Team in 2023. This team has been working closely with Net Zero Industry Wales and engaging early with industry partners across the key industrial clusters in South Wales, North Wales, and the Celtic Freeport area. The aim is simple but significant, to offer clear, practical guidance that helps industries decarbonise in a way that is both effective and sustainable. Decarbonisation often involves complex trade-offs between environmental impact and economic benefit. Our team is helping to navigate these challenges, working with industry partners to design schemes that not only reduce carbon emissions but also secure the necessary environmental approvals efficiently and transparently. By engaging early and offering expert guidance, we are giving industries more certainty about the planning and consent process, helping them to progress their projects at the speed required to meet ambitious net-zero targets. We are aware that regulatory processes can sometimes be seen as barriers to progress. But we are determined not to be a blocker, we want to be part of the solution. That's why we are significantly increasing our resources, thanks to support from the Welsh Government, to ensure we are ready to manage the growing volume of projects coming through the pipeline. The scale of demand is expected to increase five to tenfold over the coming years. We are preparing now to meet that challenge head-on, ensuring that we can process applications at pace while maintaining the environmental integrity that is at the heart of our work. NRW stands ready to support Wales' transition to a low-carbon economy. Through strategic investment, close collaboration with industry, and a commitment to balancing environmental and economic goals, we believe Wales can achieve net zero in a way that benefits both people and nature. We are open for business, and ready to help deliver a cleaner, greener, more sustainable future for Wales. Sarah talks about this and more in the recent Net Zero Industries Wales podcast episode 'Building the Future – Wales' Path to Clean Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure' listen to the podcast HERE
Business News Wales
4 hours ago
- Business News Wales
The Future of Onshore Wind in Wales Unlocking Potential and Building for the Future
Onshore wind in Wales is one of the most exciting and promising areas of renewable energy development, and it's rapidly climbing the political and economic agenda. A few years ago, the Welsh Government conducted a deep dive into renewable energy, which set out a clear and ambitious commitment to supporting and growing the onshore wind sector. That strategic focus has created real momentum, and at Natural Resources Wales (NRW), we are playing a pivotal role in making that ambition a reality. NRW holds a unique position in this space. We have multiple roles, as consentors and regulators, as well as commercial land managers. We manage around 8% of Wales' landmass on behalf of the Welsh Government and much of that land is particularly well-suited for wind energy development due to its topography and exposure. This means that NRW is not only guiding and supporting onshore wind projects through the planning and consenting process – we are also actively contributing to the delivery of these projects on our own land. We've had a long-standing build programme on NRW-managed land, and we are continuing to invest in and grow that pipeline. The Welsh Government's establishment of Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, its own renewable energy developer marks a significant step forward in this area. Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru will work alongside the private sector to deliver onshore wind projects, creating a balanced approach where both public and private sector expertise is brought together to accelerate delivery. Crucially, the goal is not just to generate renewable energy, but to ensure that the economic benefits stay in Wales. The Welsh Government's strategy is to build long-term capacity within Wales, ensuring that profits, jobs, and supply chain opportunities flow back into local communities. This is about creating a sustainable energy future that benefits the people of Wales directly – not just in terms of clean energy, but also through economic growth and job creation. The pipeline for onshore wind development is already growing. Multiple sites have already gone through the approval process, and many more are progressing through the early stages of planning and design. But there are challenges, and one of the biggest is grid capacity. The availability and strength of grid infrastructure will inevitably influence where and how quickly onshore wind projects can be delivered. This is an area where strategic planning and investment will be needed to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to support the scale of development that is being targeted. NRW is already working to support this process. We are gearing up to process an increasing volume of onshore wind applications, ensuring that our consenting teams have the resources, expertise, and capacity to manage the growing demand. But beyond consenting individual projects, we are also focused on the bigger picture, helping to design and approve the supporting infrastructure that will allow renewable energy to be integrated into the grid efficiently and reliably. It's encouraging to see that support for onshore wind is coming from all stakeholders, government, industry, regulators, and local communities. This alignment is critical to success. Developing onshore wind at scale will require coordinated action across planning, infrastructure, and delivery – and the fact that Wales is moving forward with a shared sense of purpose gives me real confidence that we can succeed. At NRW, we are fully committed to supporting this journey. We recognise the urgency of the climate challenge, but we also see the enormous opportunities that come with building a clean energy economy. Onshore wind is a cornerstone of that future and by working together, investing strategically, and planning smartly, we can ensure that Wales leads the way in delivering renewable energy that benefits both people and the nature.
Business News Wales
4 hours ago
- Business News Wales
Planning Reform Is Vital for Wales' Housing Future
The two governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay have often taken very different approaches to housing and planning. While the Labour Government in England has pressed ahead with ambitious planning reforms, the Welsh Government has, until now, largely avoided such changes. Could this be about to change? There appears to be a growing recognition in Cardiff Bay that planning reforms will be needed to deliver the Welsh Government's target of 20,000 social rented homes as well as its broader housing ambitions. For instance, the First Minister, Eluned Morgan, has made speeding up planning a top priority, and a consultation earlier this year outlined plans to increase Local Planning Authority (LPA) performance and resources. The recently released Affordable Housing Taskforce report is the latest sign of a positive shift in sentiment and sets out a series of ambitious proposals for reforms to both national planning policy and the planning process. Many of the recommendations bear similarities to measures already underway in England through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Will the Welsh Government seize the opportunities the Taskforce has set out? Affordable Housing Taskforce Chaired by backbench Member of the Senedd (MS) Lee Waters, the Taskforce aimed to identify both short- and long-term barriers to Affordable Housing delivery. HBF submitted written evidence and met with Waters to provide input. The context of the Taskforce's work is extremely challenging. Housing supply levels in Wales are falling year-on-year, and in 2023-24 just 4,771 new homes were completed – the second-lowest year on record and far below the peak of over 9,000 new homes in 2006-07. The home building industry is a major player in Affordable Housing provision, delivering 45% of all new affordable homes between 2021 and 2023 via Section 106 (S106) agreements – and so making a significant contribution to the Welsh Government's 20,000 social homes target. This is an important and often overlooked point, as with the delivery of affordable units so closely tied to private development, any fall in market housing delivery inevitably reduces the number of S106 Affordable Homes coming forward. Constraints on housing delivery previously identified To unlock housing delivery across all tenures, we have consistently highlighted several key constraints on development in Wales: • Time-expired Local Development Plans (LDPs) which contain unviable and undeliverable housing allocations.• Delays relating to statutory consultee responses and SuDS Approval Bodies (SABs).• Under-resourced Local Planning Authorities (LPAs). • No requirement for councils to calculate a housing land supply since Technical Advice Notice 1 (TAN1) was revoked in 2020, making it very difficult to progress sites which are not allocated in LDPs. Taskforce recommendations The Taskforce's recommendations reflect many of these concerns. For instance, it recommended that land identified as suitable for housing in LDPs should have a presumption towards development. If implemented, this could be transformational and help stop allocated sites from being delayed or even refused once an application is submitted. However, there must be accompanying incentives for LDPs to be kept up to date in the first place to ensure an adequate supply of deliverable allocated sites. Many of the Taskforce's other recommendations are squarely aimed at addressing the key causes of planning delays, such as proposing that LPAs no longer wait for statutory consultees past their response deadlines and establishing multidisciplinary 'development teams' within councils to resolve delays – reflecting England's 'New Homes Accelerator' teams and statutory consultee reviews. The Taskforce also called for greater delegated powers for planning officers on smaller schemes, raising the major development threshold to 50 dwellings, and introducing a national scheme of delegation, all of which could significantly accelerate housing delivery and support SME home builders. What next? Of course, while many of the Taskforce's recommendations reflect those included in England's Planning and Infrastructure Bill, Wales' approach to housing is and will rightly continue to be distinct from that in England. For instance, it is extremely positive that the Help to Buy Wales scheme remains in place, providing vital support for first-time buyers and confidence for industry, while no such support scheme is in place in England. Furthermore, the Welsh Government's policy priority continues to be Affordable Housing, whereas in England, there is a greater focus on a general uplift in supply of all housing tenures. However, despite these differences, both governments now recognise the urgent need to deliver more homes and speed up planning. But how many of the Taskforce's recommendations will the Welsh Government implement – and when? It is positive that the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Jayne Bryant, has accepted the recommendations that fall to her and has set up an implementation group to oversee them (although the recommendations related to planning fall under a different minister). Some recommendations could be implemented relatively quickly, while on the other hand, many of the more systemic recommendations, such as a presumption towards development for land identified in the LDP, would require new legislation and consultation, and so are unlikely to be implemented soon. As a result, with the next Senedd election due in May 2026 and the possibility of a Reform or Plaid Cymru-led government, some of the more ambitious recommendations are at risk of being delayed or shelved. What role can HBF play in these debates? Looking ahead to next year's Senedd elections, HBF is actively seeking responses from home builders on what changes the next Welsh Government can make to planning and housing policy to further support the industry, and we will continue to push for changes to boost housing delivery of all tenures in the years ahead.
