Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr
Steel buildings in Bridgend
Bridgend county goes from the valleys at Maesteg and Ogmore Vale down to lowland farms and the coast at Porthcawl. The northern valleys are coalfield; the southern farmland is not. That split decides a lot about a building before its size does. Around the M4 corridor there is steady demand for commercial and light industrial units as well as farm work, and the lowland holdings are some of the easier sites in the region for access and slope.
Buildings designed, supplied and erected by South West Steel Buildings across Bridgend, including Bridgend, Maesteg, Porthcawl, Pencoed, Pyle and Ogmore Vale.
- Planning authority
- The council
- Bridgend County Borough Council
- Protected landscape
- None
- No National Park, AONB or World Heritage Site.
- On the coalfield
- In part
- Check the site on the mining map.
- Drainage approval
- The council
- Needed at 100 m² or more.
What to check first in Bridgend
Which half of the county the site is in decides the first question. In the valleys above the M4 — Maesteg, the Garw, Ogmore — check the mining map before design. On the lowland farms towards Porthcawl and the Vale border it is usually the easier ground in the region, and the questions are the ordinary ones: size, planning route and drainage.
Planning in Bridgend
The planning authority for Bridgend is Bridgend County Borough Council. There is no National Park in the area, so it handles every farm building's prior notification and every planning application.
The rules themselves are Welsh, not English — 465 m² on 5 hectares or more, a 28-day notice, no Class Q — and are set out in our planning guide for farm buildings in Wales.
The ground, and the coal
Bridgend: Part of it sits on the South Wales coalfield and part does not, so it is worth checking where a site falls on the mining authority’s map before anything is designed.
In the Mining Remediation Authority's Development High Risk Area, most planning applications need a Coal Mining Risk Assessment, and the pads may need a ground investigation first. The authority's guidance explains how to check a site.
The groundworks calculator works out the base for your own slope.
Drainage approval in Bridgend
At 100 m² or more, drainage needs SuDS Approval Body approval first — for Bridgend, Bridgend County Borough Council. Roofing an existing yard? See the £40/m² yard roofing grant.
Questions about building in Bridgend
Who decides planning for a farm building in Bridgend?
Bridgend County Borough Council, for the whole of Bridgend — there is no National Park here.
Is Bridgend on the coalfield?
Part of it sits on the South Wales coalfield and part does not, so it is worth checking where a site falls on the mining authority’s map before anything is designed.
Who approves drainage for a new building in Bridgend?
Bridgend County Borough Council, as the SuDS Approval Body for Bridgend, for anything covering 100 square metres or more.
Do you build in Bridgend?
Yes. South West Steel Buildings design, supply and erect buildings across Bridgend, including Bridgend, Maesteg, Porthcawl, Pencoed, Pyle and Ogmore Vale.
Tell us what you want to put up in Bridgend
Rough span and length is enough. We reply the same day, wherever you are in Bridgend.