‘Homes and shop vacancy must be council’s priority’
MERTHYR Tydfil council needs to improve the number of houses being built and shop vacancy rates in the town centre
This was the finding of a report on the council’s local development plan seen by members of the council’s neighbourhood services, planning and countryside scrutiny committee which shows some of the areas deemed to not be working or not progressing towards their target.
The LDP governs the land use in the county borough over 15 years and allocates specific areas of land for growth and development, such as housing or employment opportunities.
Other areas identified for improvement include the number of houses being built in the Primary Growth Area, the amount of employment floor space built in the Primary Growth Area, the delivery of employment floor-space, the vacancy rate of existing employment buildings, the percentage of LDP land allocations delivered, the percentage of total development permitted on allocated sites and the vacancy rate for retail premises in Merthyr Tydfil town centre.
The council is required to have a five-year housing land supply but it currently stands at just 1.1 years.
Merthyr Tydfil council is currently working on a replacement plan to its
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Council officer John Raine said there had been issues delivering the employment and housing element of the plan mainly due to the economy and identifying the right sites.
Councillor Clive Jones asked about the housing land supply shortfall and Mr Raine said that this is an issue up and down Wales but that the Welsh Government is reviewing this target.
He said: “With the replacement plan, we are hoping to identify a more realistic building strategy.”
Cllr Jones said: “We are still in austerity. Has Welsh Government taken into account the very difficult economic times we are all suffering? Is the figure reasonable?”
The officer replied that only four councils in Wales are currently meeting the five-year housing land supply target.
On the subject of empty properties in the town centre, Cllr Jones said: “There seem to be more vacant properties now than I have seen for a long time.
“Shop premises are going to become vacant but what is the level that is acceptable?”
He was told by the officer that the target for the primary shopping area is 83% usage and that they look at UK and Welsh rates to compare with.
Cllr Jones also asked about the 440-home allocation for the Hoover site as part of the LDP.
He said the original figure was for 1,100 properties, which has been reduced to 440.
Cllr Jones said the 1,100 seemed to be a “phenomenal” number of properties and asked if the proximity to the river meant there is a flood risk.
The officer replied, saying that choosing these sites is a four-year process and they gain more evidence through that, which at first reduced the allocation to 800 before it was discovered that areas of the site are in a flood-risk zone
She said they are hoping that flood mitigation works could be carried out so they can build up to 800 homes on the site.