To erect 10 detached dwelling houses (with 20% affordable provision), layout access road and create access path parking and drop off area for Ysgol Gynradd Y Ffôr.
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Peter Read
Minutes:
Construction of 10
detached dwellings (with 20% being affordable), layout for an access road and
creation of an entrance, with a parking and pick-up area for Ysgol Gynradd y Ffôr.
(a)
The Development Control Officer elaborated on the
background of the application, noting that the appearance and landscape were
reserved although the indicative plan of the appearance of the houses had been
included. The application was originally submitted for 40 houses in 2014 and,
at the time, it was based on the Gwynedd Unitary Development Plan, and it
became apparent that Welsh Water had a lack of capacity to deal with the
proposal's sewerage. A day before the Local Development Plan was adopted, information
was received from the applicant stating that it would be possible, via a
financial contribution from him to Welsh Water, to connect to the public sewer.
Now, it was the Local Plan that was under consideration which showed that the
site was outside the development boundary. As a result of this, the applicant
amended the application for 10 houses rather than 40 and 20% of these would be
affordable.
Reference was made to the relevant policies and the
responses to the public consultations within the report and the observations on
the late form.
In terms of the application's assessment, it was
noted that the site lay outside the village development boundary and this was
considered tantamount to erecting a new house in the countryside. Reference was
made to policy TAI16 which involved proposals for affordable homes on rural
exception sites, and that the proposal did not comply with the policy which
required 100% affordable housing. The policy also required a proven local need
for affordable housing. It was noted that three sites had since been noted
within the development boundary and that the figures for Policy TAI 13
estimated that it would be possible to have 37 houses on the sites in question.
In addition, it was noted that windfall houses were not required in the village
of y Ffôr. Essentially, the proposal was contrary to Policy TAI 16.
Should the
Planning Committee decide to approve the application, it would be required to
ensure, as part of the reserved matters, that the size of the houses would be
affordable and also an update would be required for the capacity of Ysgol y
Ffôr to deal with the possible increase in pupil numbers. In addition, it was
noted that there was a lack of open spaces in y Ffôr which meant that a
financial contribution would be required towards such an additional
provision.
In
terms of road matters, the access would be suitable but a footpath was required
to link the development with the village along with a new bus stop.
The
Biodiversity Unit suggested relevant conditions.
Although
elements of the proposal were acceptable, the planning officers' recommendation
was to refuse the application as it was contrary to relevant planning policies
and the reasons noted in the report.
(b) The Local Member (not a Member of this Planning Committee)
supported the application, and he made the following main points:
·
That he supported the application for 40 houses in
the village of y Ffôr under the previous Unitary Plan, considering that the
number of pupils at the local school had fallen but the boundary had changed
and there had been problems with the sewerage
·
Installation of private tanks for the houses was
refused
·
Ysgol Hafod Lon closed, and 9 / 10 houses were
agreed
·
That the road was dangerous and this application
would give an opportunity for a secure access
·
Whilst accepting the need for 100% affordable
housing, slightly larger houses were required at times for individuals to be
able to move up the housing ladder and free up affordable housing for
others
(ch) It
was proposed and seconded to refuse the application.
During
the ensuing discussion, the following main observations were noted by members:
·
That the cross-road was extremely dangerous, no
visibility, and vehicles parked on the road
·
It would be an over-development and many houses had
been constructed in y Ffôr recently, and it was questioned whether 10
additional houses were required
·
That three other sites had been designated in the
Local Development Plan
·
The houses should be 100% affordable
·
Agreed with the recommendation, but support would
be given if the application was for 100% affordable housing
·
Extreme care had to be taken, and the difference
between the previous Development Plan and the existing plan had to be
understood. It was accepted that some individuals were winning and others were
losing, but the Committee had done thorough research and had identified 37
houses for y Ffôr that were available to meet the needs of the school. The
figure for building houses in the new development plan and the former plan had
to be taken into consideration, and there was a need to be cautious of the risk
of having more houses than what was required
·
That it was unfortunate that the boundary had
changed
RESOLVED to refuse the application.
Reasons:
1. The proposal would entail building new
houses in the countryside where they are not needed for a rural enterprise.
Therefore, the proposal is contrary to Strategic Policy PS 17 and Policy PCYFF
1 of the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan 2011-2026 (31 July
2017) together with Planning Policy Wales (9th Edition, November 2016) and
Technical Advice Note 6: Planning for Sustainable Rural Communities. Planning
for Sustainable Rural Communities.
2. The proposal is not for 100% affordable
housing, local need for affordable housing has not been proven and no details
have been submitted to show that it would not be possible to provide this
housing provision within the development boundary. The proposal is considered
to be contrary to the requirements of Policy TAI 16 of the Anglesey and Gwynedd
Joint Local Development Plan 2011-2026 (31 July 2017).
Supporting documents: