Change of use of land for the creation of a touring caravan site and extension of existing building to create toilet facilities and erection of building for the disposal of waste.
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Annwen Daniels
Minutes:
A retrospective application to change the land use
to create a touring caravan site and to extend the existing building to create
toilets and to erect a building to dispose of waste.
(a) The Development Control Officer elaborated
on the background of the application, and noted that the site was located
within the development boundary of Blaenau Ffestiniog.
The site was empty land behind Gwynedd Terrace, and there were a number of
houses dispersed around the site.
It
was reported that work had already commenced on the site and the majority of
the formal pitches were in place, and the vegetation had been planted. During
the site visits, a touring caravan and a motor-home were located on the site.
The applicant was aware of the planning situation, and the Enforcement Unit had
already been discussing the matter with him.
Attention
was drawn to the additional observations that had been received.
It
was noted that the Caravans Officers had confirmed that the site setting did
not meet the licensing conditions (Model Standards 1983) in terms of site
density. It was considered that the layout of the site was not suitable for its
proposed use as a touring site.
Attention was drawn to the fact that no open spaces had been planned
into the site, and although there were open spaces immediately nearby, there
was no space for children to play within the safety of the site itself.
It
was noted that the site was located off Ffordd Baltic
(unclassified road) and that the access to this road was approximately 80m away
from the junction of Ffordd Baltic with the A470
trunk road. This was the most direct route into and out of the site. A new
access had already been created to this site from Ffordd
Baltic. There was no specific objection to this access alone. The Transport
Unit had confirmed that the road network from this access to the right towards
the A470 or to the left towards Glanypwll Road was of
sufficient width to cope with general two-way traffic, but it was not
considered that the junction on either side of Ffordd
Baltic (i.e. junction with the A470 or the junction with Glanypwll
Road) was suitable for the type of expected traffic in relation to a touring
caravan site. In addition, the Trunk Road Unit had confirmed that the use of
the Ffordd Baltic junction to the A470 would be
unacceptable.
It
was reported that the Enforcement Case Officer and the Transport Unit had
stated clearly that the site access off Ffordd Baltic
was unacceptable should an application be submitted for the site. They had
already suggested that possibly the use of the existing access past the
applicant's property known as Tŷ'n y Coed could be acceptable. This access did not form a part
of the application, and it had not been assessed by the Trunk Road Unit.
It
was noted that the development was considered unsuitable for the site and that
it was contrary to the relevant policies as noted in the report.
(b) Taking advantage of the right to
speak, the applicant noted the following main points:
·
That he owned three businesses and employed local
people;
·
That he had met a Senior Development Control
Officer on 3/3/14 where the possibility of having such a development on the
site had been discussed. The officer had noted that he could not envisage a
problem that could not be overcome;
·
That the officer had spoken with the Senior
Development Control Officer - Transportation, and that he had received
confirmation over the phone on 10/3/14 that the proposed access was fine;
·
The junction near Baltic House would not be used,
the next junction that had just been redone would be used. He had contacted an
officer from the Trunk Road Authority and he had received confirmation that
they were happy with the proposal provided that signage was erected showing
that Ffordd Baltic should not be used.
·
That he had commenced work on the site and that he
intended to carry out the work in his own time.
(c) In response to the above observations, the
Senior Development Control Officer - Transportation noted:-
·
That he had received an enquiry from a Senior
Development Control Officer regarding the site and had visited the site in
relation to developing the site for motor-homes;
·
That an access from Hospital Road had been
discussed and that he had e-mails that had been sent to the Planning Service to
confirm this. Access from Ffordd Baltic had not been
discussed.
A proposal to undertake a site visit
was made and seconded.
RESOLVED to undertake a site visit.
Supporting documents: