Permission for 20 homes refused

PLANNING permission for up to 20 new homes in Llwynhendy has been refused due to concerns over the possible impact to water quality and marine and bird life in Carmarthen Bay and the Burry Inlet.

Outline planning permission was turned down by Carmarthenshire Council planners for the homes on 0.9 hectares of land between Parc Gitto and Meadow Crescent.

A new access road would have served the site off Parc Gitto and run through the new housing estate, which would have comprised a mixture of two, three, four and fivebedroom homes.

Behind the plans is the estate of WJ Thomas, who first lodged the proposals in January 2019.

Concerns were raised that year by Councillor Deryk Cundy, who cited traffic and sewerage capacity as issues that need exploring further.

Now, almost three years from the date of the application being lodged, the plans have been thrown out by Carmarthenshire Council’s head of planning under delegated power.

The council ruled that the scheme had an “absence of an appropriate and deliverable scheme of surface water management” which is needed for any multi-agency approach to “improve and safeguard the environmental quality of the Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Burry Inlet, Burry Inlet Special Protected Area (SPA) and Burry Inlet Ramsar, collectively known as the Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries European Marine Site (CBEEMS).

The council report added: “It cannot be demonstrated that the development will not have a harmful impact on water quality, marine life and bird life or local infrastructure.”

It is not known whether the applicants will appeal.