Construct 5 single storey houses with one to be an affordable house.
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Gruffydd Williams
Minutes:
Construction of five one-storey houses with one to
be affordable.
(a)
The Planning Manager elaborated on the background
of the application and noted that neighbouring land to the west, which was also owned by the applicant, had already received planning permission to construct 10 two-storey houses. It was explained that as part of the permission it was intended to retain the site of the existing application site as 16 allotments with a condition on planning
permission C12/1372/42/LL to ensure
that this land was used as allotments.
It
was noted that the site was located within the development boundary of Nefyn and had been earmarked as a protected open/play area in
the JLDP and the site had previously been used as allotments.
Attention was drawn to the additional
observations that had been received.
It was noted
that the proposal was considered in terms
of Policy ISA 4 of the JLDP that
dealt with safeguarding existing open areas. It was reported that a Summary of Evidence on Open
Areas had been submitted as part of the application. The agent had also, as part of the application, summarised the information gathered as part of the Planning, Design and Access Statement. This information was prepared by the agent and gave a summary
of the process and the efforts of the applicant to seek evidence of the demand for allotments
in Nefyn.
It
was noted that the applicant had conducted a survey of the allotments at Y
Ddôl in order to assess how many
of the 21 were in use in September
2016. From the
information submitted only 10 out of the 21 allotments with planning permission were being used.
As the applicant
had understood by letter from Nefyn Town Council that there were
drainage difficulties at y
Ddôl allotments site he tried to seek
access to Y Ddôl site to assess the drainage needs and to see
if it was possible to solve these. It was noted that the applicant had stated that he continued
to be ready to assess land drainage to see if he
could assist to improve the allotments on Y Ddôl site if the opportunity arose.
It could be seen that
the situation with allotments in Nefyn had changed since the application for 10 houses had been approved with planning
permission given for 21 allotments at Y Ddôl site. From the information submitted it appeared that these
allotments had not been filled and although
it was possible that there were reasons
for this there was potential here for 21 allotments. It was understood that this land
was leased by Gwynedd Council
to Nefyn Town Council for
15 years from October 2014.
It
was noted that Technical Advice Note 16 stated that there may
be fewer safeguards for privately owned
allotment sites compared to those run by local authorities. It was considered that a fair effort
had been made by the applicant to seek information about the needs in terms
of the allotments provision
in Nefyn, and also to try and contribute towards improving facilities at Y Ddôl site.
It was noted
that the applicant had stated that he
would be willing to sign a Section 106 agreement to tie one of the houses as an affordable unit. This would be equivalent
to 20% of the houses and would be more than the requirement
for Nefyn as stated in policy TAI 15 of the
JLDP. As a result
of signing a section 106 agreement for affordable
housing to tie one of the units for affordable need, it was considered that the proposal would satisfy the requirements of policy TAI 15.
It was reported
that information had been received late
in the day from Nefyn Town Council giving a list of those with an
allotment at Y Ddôl and also a waiting list for an
allotment. It was noted that neither the officers or the applicant had had an opportunity
to assess the information and therefore it was recommended that the application should be deferred in order
to consider the new information. It was suggested that if the application
was deferred that consideration should be given to conduct a site visit.
(b) Taking advantage of the right to speak, the applicant’s agent
noted the following main points:-
·
The proposal
would address the need for housing
with prices that local people
could afford;
·
The proposed
development would create jobs;
·
The site
was adjacent to another housing site and
access on foot to services;
·
That the land
had been left unused as allotments since 2009;
·
That there
were 21 allotments on Y Ddôl site and research had been undertaken regarding the demand for allotments;
·
That the applicant
had contacted the Town Council
several times but their offer to assess the drainage situation on Y Ddôl site had not been accepted.
·
An advert had been placed in the press asking for
expressions of interest in an allotment.
Ten e-mails/letters were received
expressing an interest. It was thought that there was no need for
allotments at the current scale;
·
The applicant
was eager for the application to be determined at this meeting.
(c) It
was proposed to defer the application in order to consider the new information
and conduct a site visit. The proposal was seconded.
A
member noted that the local member's information regarding flooding should also
be considered.
RESOLVED to defer the application in order to consider new information and to conduct a site visit.
Supporting documents: