Councillors to reconsider homes plan on site of former laboratory

PLANS for 95 houses on the site of a former laboratory in Llantwit Fardre will go before councillors again.

The plans from Bellway Homes for the former Clariant site on Llantrisant Road were deferred by Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s planning committee in February and will now go back before them on Thursday, March 25.

Members of the committee voted to defer the application to allow further negotiation with the applicants in respect of the provision of affordable housing, and to allow the developer to give further consideration to addressing the layout concerns related to noise and the adjacent industrial estate and to address concerns relating to car parking at Role Play Lane.

This is a reserved matters application with outline approval having already been granted so the committee is now considering the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the development.

There have been five letters objecting to the plans which raised issues such as lack of infrastructure to cope with another new housing site, congestion, ability to get a doctor’s appointment and full schools.

In response to the concerns raised, the full remit of the Section 106 agreement secured against the outline planning permission includes in total 7% affordable housing, a local equipped area for play, a £10,000 active travel contribution, a long-term habitat management plan, and an employment skills plan.

In addition to the Section 106 requirements the development of the site will also deliver Community Infrastructure Levy contributions in excess of £1m.

The development will provide 4% social rented walk-up flats and 3% low cost home ownership.

The provision of affordable housing can only be agreed at the grant of planning permission (in this case the grant of outline planning permission) and there is no provision to reconsider social housing at the reserved matters stage.

Planning officers are recommending it for approval as they said that the principle of the proposed development has been established through the earlier grant of outline planning permission and the details submitted under cover of this submission are considered acceptable in planning terms.

They said: “The application is continuing to comply with the relevant policies of the Local Development Plan in respect of the residential development of a brownfield site within settlement limits. The applicants have also been able to demonstrate the proposals are acceptable in terms of impact on the highway.”