Agenda item

11.1 18C215 – Swn yr Afon, Llanrhwydus

11.2 34C655 – 2 Ty’n Coed Uchaf, Llangefni

11.3 37C187 – Bryn Garth, Brynsiencyn

11.4 47C121A – Hen Blas, Llanddeusant

11.118C215 – Outline application with access included for the erection of an affordable dwelling, construction of a new access together with the installation of a sewerage treatment plant on land adjacent to Swn yr Afon, Llanrhwydrus, LL68 0SR

The application is brought to the Committee’s attention as the applicant is friends with a relevant officer and the file has been reviewed by the Monitoring Officer.

The Chair invited Sioned Roberts to present her point of view to the Committee.

Miss Roberts highlighted the following points in support of the application –

·         She described her personal circumstances and her family links with Swn yr Afon and Llanrhwydrus.

·         She referred to the difficulties of purchasing a house as she was effectively priced out of the market locally. She gave examples of the number and prices of houses for sale at present.

·         Due to the unaffordability of houses locally, the area has seen older incomers which is sad for the rural community. She was fortunate enough to have been given a piece of land by her parents on which she wished to build an affordable home.

·         Her aspirations for the future were to settle and raise a family in the locality. It would be helpful both for her and for her parents to be living close to each other.

·         In conclusion, she wished to stay within her community close to family and friends and to start a family. She was not asking for planning consent for a large house but simply for a home within the small cluster of houses around her childhood home.

There were no questions for Miss Sioned Roberts from the Committee’s Members.

The Planning Development Manager said that the application conflicts with Development Plan policy and is presented to the Committee only because the applicant is friends with a relevant officer. The application site as proposed is located in the open countryside where strict policies apply and justification for new housing development must be demonstrated.  Other than affordability, no other justification is offered in support of the application which can be considered under relevant housing in the countryside policies. Moreover, the application site is located in a prominent positions where it is considered the development of a new dwelling would have a detrimental impact on the character of the surrounding landscape.

Councillor Kenneth Hughes speaking as a Local Member said that he supported the application on the grounds of policy as well as on Welsh language grounds and he cited Para 9.2.13 of Planning Policy Wales in justification of his position. This paragraph provides for the sensitive infilling of small gaps within small groups of houses or minor extensions to groups. He believed the policy applied in this case given there were 3 houses close by and he did not feel that another dwelling would have an adverse effect on the locality. There were no objections locally to the proposal. In addition the proposal provides an opportunity both to ensure the continuity of the family as well as to keep young people on the Island and within their communities thus helping to safeguard local amenities such as the school and the Welsh language which considerations Councillor Hughes deemed to be important.

Members of the Committee were sympathetic to the application and were concerned that planning policy as it is currently seems to be working against young people wishing to remain within their communities with consequent implications for the viability of those communities and the prosperity of the Welsh Language. Members wished to declare their dissatisfaction with the situation and suggested that representations be made to that effect. Councillor John Griffith believed that the Committee should support the application.

The Planning Development Manager reminded Members that officers are responsible for implementing the planning policies of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. The Officer said that it would be difficult to reconcile approving this application with a previous decision in similar circumstances. Consequently granting consent would occasion him professional concern as an Officer. He further clarified in response to a question by a Member about the application being an affordable housing application that although the application is presented as an affordable housing application - to be considered as an appropriate location supported by policy the proposed development would have to be located on an appropriate site within or immediately adjoining an existing settlement which is not the case here.

The Legal Services Manager advised that the application site is located more obviously in the countryside than a similar application considered previously. He said that it is the Committee’s responsibility to put into effect planning policy, law and procedure and as such it is difficult to see how the decision can be other than to refuse the application.

Having heard the professional advice given, Members of the Committee concluded with regret that based on policy considerations, the application could not be approved. Councillor Nicola Roberts proposed that the application be refused and Councillor W.T.Hughes seconded the proposal.

Councillor J.A.Roberts in his capacity as Portfolio Member for Planning said that he noted the Committee’s concerns and that the matter would be looked into. However any change in policy would take time, and in the meantime it is the Committee’s responsibility to effect the Council’s existing planning policies.

It was resolved to refuse the application in accordance with the Officer’s report. (As a Local Member, Councillor Kenneth Hughes did not vote on the matter).