New homes get go-ahead
CALLS for people to be put before developers’ profits have failed to halt a major plan for up to 450 new homes in Tondu.
CALLS for people to be put before developers’ profits have failed to halt a major plan for up to 450 new homes.
Objectors argued the scheme is too large and will create traffic chaos, overwhelm doctors’ surgeries and schools, while harming wildlife, sites of historical significance and cause flooding.
But Bridgend council planners agreed to the principle of the scheme for land west of Maesteg Road in Tondu, near Bridgend.
Group manager for development Jonathan Parsons warned that rejection of the development proposed by Merthyr Mawr Estates – which he said was in accordance with the Local Development Plan (LDP) – risked forcing the council into an expensive appeals process or even a public inquiry.
He added: “This development will not go away. It will move somewhere else.”
Residents of the existing Pentre Felin estate in Tondu and communities the length of the Llynfi Valley have fought a long campaign against the plan, which proposes development over four phases – including 1,000sqm of commercial space – with 135 homes in the first stage.
Resident Claudette Evans told a meeting of Bridgend County Borough Council’s development control committee last Thursday that the community was already living with the legacy of broken promises for a new nursery, primary school and medical centre.
“The original Stangate plan in the LDP was for 250 houses, nursery, primary school and a medical centre,” she said. “Why the changes? We feel the answer is profit.”
She told the committee: “The decision you take will affect the whole of the Llynfi Valley.
“Before other large planning consent is granted, please safeguard the existing community and make sure there are sufficient school places, medical facilities and transport infrastructure before a divot of earth is lifted.”
Councillor Tim Thomas said improvements to the main valley artery, the A4063, should be made before any development begins and not once it has started.
Councillor James Radcliffe said: “This is not about blocking housing on this site, but blocking excessive housing not supported by infrastructure.”
He said the proposal was for 18.5% more houses than the number outlined in the LDP and giving the plan consent would set an “undesirable precedent” which other developers could exploit.
Cllr Radcliffe also questioned the developer’s assertion that the initial 135 homes would not increase traffic levels in the area and that their estate design, including walkways, would encourage residents out of their cars.
A report presented to the committee also highlighted community concerns that development of the former opencast site would exacerbate surface water flooding problems and disturb wildlife habitats that had naturally evolved on the site.
Fears had also been raised that a proposed 300m realignment of the A4063 road – which developers will pay for to mitigate traffic issues once they are past the first phase of development – would come too close to a listed bridge and cause damage.
But council officers said all the concerns had been addressed by way of planning conditions. The developer will contribute up to £1.6m towards funding extra school places and also money towards road enhancements and sustainable transport.
Wildlife surveys and “buffer strips” for animals will also be created prior to any development.
Officers added that independent traffic assessments showed the extra cars could be accommodated and they were satisfied the new design for the realignment of the A4063 would not harm a historic bridge.
Principal planning officer Phil Thomas said a bus routes could also be brought onto the site in future, adding changes to the road layout “will not take away the queues, but offer appropriate mitigation”.
Committee members voted nine to two in favour of the scheme, with one member abstaining.
The conditions of the planning application also state no development can take place before drainage schemes to combat flooding are agreed with the council and that contaminants are removed from the former opencast site.
After the meeting, Plaid AM Dr Dai Lloyd called for an urgent meeting with the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths.
Dr Lloyd, who has previously written to the council outlining his concerns, called the decision “disappointing”.
“This raises a number of questions, and I am seeking a meeting with the Welsh Government at the earliest opportunity to discuss the matter. It cannot be right that a council can approve a development of this type which goes against a core policy position.
“It is also worrying that councillors were ‘warned’ against opposing the development with suggestions that to do so would pose threats to the validity of the LDP. I do not believe this to be the case, as each planning application must be judged on its own merits.”
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