Appeal over homes refusal at hospital site

A LOCAL authority has been accused of acting “unreasonably” after rejecting plans to build houses on the site of a hospital.

Wrexham Council (WBC) has twice kicked back proposals to develop part of the Penley Polish Hospital site, which was set up following World War II.

Some of the original hospital buildings have since been demolished and replaced by the more modern Penley Community Hospital, which is run by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

An application was put forward last November for nine homes in place of a number of existing buildings at Penley Hall Drive. However, permission was refused due to road safety concerns.

An appeal has now been lodged against the decision by applicants Mr K Barker and Mrs T Wilson. An agent acting on their behalf claimed the reason for turning the scheme down did not make sense.

In documents submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, Marc Sorrentino said: “It is illogical and inconsistent for WBC to refuse permission on the basis that it deems the access road (Penley Hall Drive) to be inconvenient or unsafe whilst taking no action to rectify this despite being in a position to do so and the same road constituting the sole access to over 100 other homes.

“WBC has behaved unreasonably in relation to its consideration of this application.”

The appeal will be considered by an inspector appointed by the Welsh Government at a later date.