Caerffili
Steel buildings in Caerphilly
Caerphilly county borough follows the Rhymney and Sirhowy valleys from Rhymney in the north down to Caerphilly and Risca. It is steep ground, small hill farms, horses on the valley sides and a lot of business and industrial land on the valley floors. It is outside the National Park. Nearly all of it is coalfield, so the mining map and a proper look at the slope are the two things to settle before anything is priced.
Buildings designed, supplied and erected by South West Steel Buildings across Caerphilly, including Caerphilly, Blackwood, Bargoed, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Rhymney and Newbridge.
- Planning authority
- The council
- Caerphilly County Borough Council
- Protected landscape
- None
- No National Park, AONB or World Heritage Site.
- On the coalfield
- Mostly
- Check the site on the mining map.
- Drainage approval
- The council
- Needed at 100 m² or more.
What to check first in Caerphilly
Mining map first — nearly all of the borough is coalfield. Then slope: the Rhymney and Sirhowy valley sides mean most sites need a platform cut, and the spoil has to go somewhere. There is no National Park here, so the council decides every farm building, and for the many horse keepers in the valleys, remember stables and arenas need a planning application.
Planning in Caerphilly
The planning authority for Caerphilly is Caerphilly 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
Caerphilly: Most of it sits on the South Wales coalfield, so old shallow workings and mine entries are a real foundation question — check the site 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 Caerphilly
At 100 m² or more, drainage needs SuDS Approval Body approval first — for Caerphilly, Caerphilly County Borough Council. Roofing an existing yard? See the £40/m² yard roofing grant.
Questions about building in Caerphilly
Who decides planning for a farm building in Caerphilly?
Caerphilly County Borough Council, for the whole of Caerphilly — there is no National Park here.
Is Caerphilly on the coalfield?
Most of it sits on the South Wales coalfield, so old shallow workings and mine entries are a real foundation question — check the site on the mining authority’s map before anything is designed.
Who approves drainage for a new building in Caerphilly?
Caerphilly County Borough Council, as the SuDS Approval Body for Caerphilly, for anything covering 100 square metres or more.
Do you build in Caerphilly?
Yes. South West Steel Buildings design, supply and erect buildings across Caerphilly, including Caerphilly, Blackwood, Bargoed, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Rhymney and Newbridge.
Tell us what you want to put up in Caerphilly
Rough span and length is enough. We reply the same day, wherever you are in Caerphilly.