Plans to redevelop a castle where a millionaire businessman strangled his girlfriend have taken a major step forward. Pencoed Castle in Llanmartin, near Newport, was the site where farmer turned property developer Peter Morgan murdered dancer and personal escort Georgina Symonds in 2016.
Morgan, who bought the imposing Tudor mansion and its 10 hectares of land and outbuildings in the early 2000s, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and the Grade II* listed site remains derelict after years of failed redevelopment plans including a golf resort and a theme park. Pencoed Castle was sold at auction for £1.1m in September 2020 and there is currently planning permission to restore the castle, convert outbuildings to offices, and develop 12 new houses. The building's owners Corinthian Homes have now submitted major plans to restore the site to Newport City Council.
In planning documents the owners said they were "keen to progress the restoration of the listed buildings and the development of the new houses" and proposed changes to the site include repairing existing historic features including stone stairs, stonework, windows, roof, renewing rainwater goods, and making good doorways. The applicants say there are bat roost locations within the castle building and that permanent long-term roost provision is incorporated into the castle as part of its redevelopment. Work at the castle requires special consent due to its listed status.
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A Newport City Council conservation officer said while they were supportive "in principle" that the repairs would "ensure the listed building is restored to an appropriate condition" they had concerns about the lack of detail in the application. They said the plans "lack sufficient detail to allow for an informed assessment of the application" including not enough detail about how doorways, stonework, the basement, and other aspects will be restored.
In a response a Cadw spokesman said they had "significant concerns about the impact" of the work on the site's listed status. It said it "strongly recommended that the applicant should consider developing a ground protection strategy and should consult the inspector of ancient monuments before any works commence to ensure that no damage will occur".
Pencoed Castle is estimated to have been built between 1500 and 1560 and for generations belonged to the wealthy Morgan family of Tredegar, who built a large mansion on the medieval site. It was sold in 1914 to David Alfred Thomas, later Lord Rhondda, but by the 1960s the castle itself had become mostly derelict.
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