Planning appeal is dismissed

A DECISION to dismiss an appeal after permission was refused for 17 new homes on Anglesey, has been welcomed by local members.

In July, members of Anglesey Council’s planning committee refused plans to build the new homes near Lon Dyfnia in Llanfairpwll.

Despite planning officers recommending that the plans be approved, members of the committee decided to turn them down on the basis of fears the plans would represent overdevelopment of the area, with additional concerns over drainage and an additional risk of flooding.

The decision was preceded by a site visit on May 18 last year.

Prior to the decision the applicants, Rectory Developments Anglesey Ltd, decided to take the matter to The Planning Inspectorate over fears the authority was taking too long to decide its fate, having been initially submitted in February 2015.

But the government body has now announced that the appeal has failed, after deciding that the planning committee’s decision should stand.

Inspector Duncan Beggan, in his summing up, noted: “I accept that the proposed development would meet much needed housing of which a significant proportion would be given to affordable housing; this is given significant weight in favour of the proposal, however, such provision, or for that matter any other benefits, do not outweigh the detrimental impact of the scheme in terms of its layout and the detriment it would cause to residential amenity, and the balance clearly falls in favour of dismissing the appeal.”

An Anglesey Council spokesperson said: “We accept the findings of the inspector both in terms of the dismissed appeal and decision to award costs.

“The Planning Service will now study these findings in greater detail to ensure future learning.”

Local member, Cllr Meirion Jones, added: “I’d like to thank Cllrs Lewis Davies and Victor Hughes for their support, as well as fellow members Jim Evans and Alun Mummery throughout the process.”