Council chief rejects home site claims
THE leader of Neath Port Talbot Council has responded to “serious and unsubstantiated allegations” against the council regarding the granting of planning permission for new homes in Glynneath.
Councillor Rob Jones said there has been a “great deal of rumour and misinformation on social media in particular” about the planning permission given to construction firm Enzo Homes last month for 80 new homes on land south of Heol y Glyn.
The homes will be a mix of two, three and four bedroom properties comprising of terraced, semidetached and detached properties.
The site is within the Neath Port Talbot Council’s (NPT) local development plan (LDP) and has been since the 1990s.
The allegations, which councillor Jones said are without substance and will be defended robustly, claim the site has been historically used for illegal tipping of asbestos and toxic waste and that the council planning department has colluded with the former site owners to hide contaminated land.
Mr Jones said: “The level of rumour and misinformation and allegations against officers and councillors have called into question the council’s role in this application and as such a statement is necessary in this regard.
“These very serious allegations about the conduct of officers and councillors of all political parties, both in the past and current, are clearly based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the planning process on remediating contaminated land. They are without substance and they will be robustly defended.”
He added: “During and since the determination of the planning application, serious allegations have been directed at the council and shared online and via social media.
“They insinuate that there has historically been illegal tipping of asbestos and toxic waste on the site.
“They also include serious and unsubstantiated allegations about the conduct of officers and councillors, stating that the planning department has colluded with the former site owners to hide contaminated land, which would constitute a breach of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.”
The site lies between Heol y Glyn and neighbouring properties.
Mr Jones said the local authority was issuing a formal response to publicly clarify matters relating to the site: “The council takes its responsibilities with regards to ground contamination very seriously. The council is satisfied that it has not at any point contravened its duties under this legislation. Allegations that the council has colluded with a former owner to ‘hide’ contamination are false and malevolent.
“The most recent planning permission for the site was issued following lengthy consideration by councillors on the planning committee, with expert planning and land contamination advice being provided.
“The advice took account of the extensive submissions expressing concern about contamination and its impacts, with representatives of the objectors presenting their views to the planning committee.”
Mr Jones added: “The merits of the planning application were therefore openly and extensively debated in public, and all matters relating to land contamination at the site were considered in significant detail.
“This included any matters that might relate to the need to address any contamination that might have arisen from historical tipping, and the need to ensure the site is appropriately remediated for the proposed residential use.
“In this respect, and noting the serious allegations made against the council, we would emphasise that both Natural Resources Wales and the council’s officers are satisfied that the levels of contamination at the site are not unusual or dangerous, and there are no reasonable grounds to conclude that the site could not be remediated through the conditions attached to the planning permission.”
Mr Jones added that conditions imposed a formal mechanism to deal with “unexpected contamination” and the development of the site will now be the catalyst for works which will ensure that any contamination at the site will be remediated in the near future”.