Plans to rebuild an entire village with 107 affordable houses on the Llŷn Peninsula are a step closer.
According to Gwynedd Council's Planning Department, people have until the end of this week, 15 July, to submit any comments about the first part of the plan in Penrhos, near Pwllheli.
A site of historical significance, this is where on September 8 1936, Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine and DJ Williams burned down the RAF Bombing School in Penyberth. Colloquially, it's known as the 'Tan yn Llŷn' - Fire in Llŷn.
At the end of the Second World War, the rows of wooden barracks were turned into a village for Polish soldiers and their families who had fled Poland. And it was there in 1949, that the Penrhos Polish Village was founded.
Today there are 103 living units, as well as a closed nursing home, a hall, a library, a garage, offices and a church.
In 2020, the Polish Housing Society merged with ClwydAlyn Housing Association, which owns more than 6,000 homes across the north of Wales. The planning application is in three parts, with the first being an application to demolish everything except the church.
Councillor Angela Russell represents the ward on Gwynedd County Council. Although she would like to see a new nursing home built as part of the first phase, she welcomes the development: "As things stand now, there is not a single nursing home in Llŷn and that is a big concern. It's our dream at the moment but we want it to be a reality very soon. But I'm glad it's still underway - this is something good for all of Wales.
"It will be a good example of care in the community when we get it there."
Councillor Dilwyn Morgan has responsibility for Adults, Health and Well-being on Gwynedd Council's Cabinet.
Cllr. Morgan told our sister title, Corgi Cymru, that the development, "is a partnership between Gwynedd Council, ClwydAlun Housing, the Health Board (Betsi Cadwaladr) and the Polish residents."
Has the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board committed to the plans for a new nursing home for the residents of Llŷn?
"Betsi Cadwaladr is committed and very keen to work to move this forward. They sound quite keen on this - they see the benefits," Cllr Morgan replied.
Over the next few months Gwynedd Council and the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board will come together to create a business plan for funding the nursing home, said Cllr. Morgan.
"The houses that are there at the moment, although they are homes for people, the standard is not good enough in terms of insulation and so forth," he said.
In a joint statement by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Gwynedd Council and ClwydAlyn, a spokesperson: "We continue to work closely on the key issue of the provision of nursing homes and care in Gwynedd. We are considering a range of options to tackle the increasing strain on health and social care services, which includes working with ClwydAlyn on the redevelopment of the Penrhos site."
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