EditorPORT TALBOT: The Victorian bank that’s stood empty since Barclays left — now someone wants to turn it into 13 homes
Walk past the old Barclays on Station Road and you’ll see one of the best-looking buildings in Port Talbot — ornate stonework, an arched entrance, sash windows, the lot. It’s been locked and gathering dust for more than three years.
A developer called LIFE Property Group wants to change that. They’ve applied to Neath Port Talbot Council for permission to convert the building into 13 affordable one-bedroom flats.
Local MP Stephen Kinnock shared the plans on Facebook this week and urged residents to have their say before a decision is made.
The building dates back to the 1800s and is officially recognised by the council as a Building of Local Importance. The plan is to leave the famous stone front completely untouched — all 13 flats would go into a new three-storey block at the back, while the ground floor offices at the front would stay in commercial use.
Barclays shut its Port Talbot branch in 2021 as part of a national wave of closures, and it wasn’t the only one — HSBC pulled out of the town around the same time. The empty buildings they left behind have become a familiar sight on Station Road.
But according to the planning documents submitted with the application, Station Road has quietly been changing for years. The former police station up the road has already become a block of modern flats, and a series of other properties along the street have been converted since 2010.
The developer’s planning consultants argue this shows the council is open to sensitive modernisation of the area — and that bringing the old bank back into use fits that pattern.
Just half a mile away, work has started on a 43-home development on the former Dyffryn School site, and older flats in the area have had major eco refurbishments. After years of closures and empty shopfronts, there are at least signs of life.
The site sits in a flood risk zone, so a separate flood risk report has been submitted alongside the planning application. According to the documents, the flats would be built slightly above ground level as a precaution.
The plans also include solar panels on the new roof, cycle storage and wildlife boxes for bats and birds.
No housing association has been named to manage the flats yet, though the developer says talks are under way with several potential partners. All 13 units would be classed as affordable housing — well above the 25% the council typically asks for from new developments, according to planning policy documents.
The development would include just two parking spaces at the rear — so residents would be relying heavily on public transport. Port Talbot Parkway station is a short walk away, with direct trains to Swansea, Cardiff and London.
If you want to have your say, search application number P2026/0067 on the Neath Port Talbot planning portal, or email [email protected].
More on Port Talbot
Former Port Talbot bank could be turned into 13 affordable flats under new plans
Our September 2025 report on the pre-application consultation for the same building.
Barclays confirms closure of bank branches in Gorseinon and Port Talbot
When the branch that started all this first announced it was shutting.
HSBC to shut Port Talbot and Tenby bank branches in latest round of closures
Another branch gone — the story of Port Talbot’s high street bank exodus.
Work to start on 43-home development at former Port Talbot school
Half a mile from Station Road, another former building gets a new life.
Eco makeover gives flats a new lease of life
How older Port Talbot homes are being brought up to date.
