THE DETAILS
What the plan says about south-east Wales...
With almost half of Wales’ population living in the south-east, there are few places off limit when it come to house building.
The plan is not a detailed local development plan. That role will be performed by the strategic development plan for the region, which is currently being developed and will provide a framework within which local plans for Cardiff, Newport and areas like RCT can sit.
However, the Waleswide plan makes clear that there will be significant population growth over the next 20 years in the existing urban areas. No plans to slow the Cardiff boom
According to the consultation, the aim is for Cardiff to “retain and extend its roles as the primary national centre for culture, sport, leisure, media, the nighttime economy and finance”. Newport is going to have to pick up Cardiff’s slack
With Cardiff’s growth seemingly unstoppable, there is problem of space. According to the report: “Cardiff is currently experiencing a period of growth in population and employment, but the city cannot continue to expand indefinitely without major consequences for the environment. It is a compact city nearing its physical limits.”
So what is the answer? According to the plans, the aim is to grow Newport to try to make it a focus for the east of the region and take some growth pressures off Cardiff. Trying to get Cardiff Airport to take off
The Welsh Government says it wants to see passengers increase from 1.6 million a year at the moment to three million in 2040. What the plan says about Swansea, mid and west Wales...
The mid and southwest Wales region are all of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Swansea and the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast National Parks.
Neath, Port Talbot, Swansea and Llanelli will be seeing most of the growth
Planners believe that the vast majority of growth for this geographically large region will be concentrated in Neath, Port Talbot, Swansea and Llanelli.
However, they also plan to have “regional centres” at Carmarthen, Llandrindod Wells, Newtown, Aberystwyth and the four Haven Towns (Milford Haven, Haverfordwest, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock).
The Welsh Government estimates 23,400 additional homes are needed in the region until 2038. It could become a centre for green energy
The plan identifies one of the areas key strengths is its “outstanding natural resources, including the coast, two national parks, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, minerals, agricultural land, water and a high-quality landscape”. They add there is “strong potential for wind, tidal and solar energy generation” and that plan should be put in place to create this.