PLANS for a new care home in the Amman Valley are finally set to be approved this week.

The proposals will see one of the valley’s most iconic buildings, Garnant Workmen’s Hall, demolished to make way for a multi-million pound care home scheme.

The Workmen’s Hall, along with an adjacent shop, will be replaced by a five-storey care home.

Plans were first submitted to Carmarthenshire County Council two years ago, by Regine and Resolve Architects on behalf of TS Properties, and claimed the new care home would house 78 residents and create 16 full and part-time jobs in the area.

However, a series of delays to the application meant planning has still yet to be approved.

The most recent stumbling block was an objection from the Coal Authority in March.

That objection has now been withdrawn, and the plans will be approved by a council planning officer this week.

Councillor Kevin Madge has welcomed the news: “The Workmen’s Hall has been a nightmare for years. The building is unsafe at the moment. There is a hole in the roof, kids have been breaking in, there has been fires there, there have been drugs problems there. It has been a nightmare.

“It needs to come down, so I am hoping the developers will carry out their plans for the benefit of the community.

“This will be the biggest development Garnant will have seen. With the number of older people in the Amman Valley rising, this is really good news for the area.”

Once plans are approved, the developers of the site will have five years to commence work.

The hall, built in 1927, served as a venue for concerts, a cinema, leisure centre and club. However, after lack of interest, the hall close in February 1972.

Since that time it has been the subject of vandalism and hit the headlines in 2009 after police seized almost £1m worth of cannabis plants from the building.