Agenda item

Consideration was given to the Report of the Corporate Lead

Officer Economy and Regeneration upon development,

advertisement; local authority and statutory planning

Applications:-

A210230 Change of use from C3 (dwelling)  to C4 House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), 8 Gogerddan Cottages, Penglais Road, Aberystwyth

To APPROVE the application subject to conditions.

A210283 Erection of 2 dwellings, Plot 16 & 17 Clos y Gwyddil, Y Ferwig, Cardigan

To APPROVE the application subject to conditions and subject to a Section  106 Legal Agreement, which would secure a 10% commuted sum contribution to be used towards the provision of affordable housing in the  county, as per the provision of LDP Policy S05, the works to commence       within 18 months from the date of the permission.

Members did not agree with the recommendation of Officers and were of the opinion that the application could be approved for the following reasons:-

·         Other developments in the linked settlement were not coming forward

·         Original permission was granted over ten years ago with 15 dwellings being built; 10 on the open market and 5 affordable which was fifty per cent of the development, this was greater than the usual provision required towards affordable dwellings

·         This estate was ideal, with space to accommodate two dwellings, this would complete the site

·         The Local Member and Ferwig Community Council support the application

·         Anonymous comments from third parties were presented in page 14 of the report should not be given as much weight and one objector objects due to the loss of  views, this was not a material planning consideration.

·         There were no objections from Highways, Land Drainage, Ecology, Natural Resources Wales, Safeguarding Minerals or Welsh Water and the Residential Amenity section of the Officer’s report on page 15/16 was extremely positive and stated that the proposed development was considered acceptable according to LDP Policy DM06 - criterion 7

·         The only objection was on the basis of numbers and percentages and due to the change in housing need and issues within the County, including phosphates on the River Teifi Special Area of Conservation, Members considered they could support this application

·         There were a number of relevant arguments for supporting the application contrary to the LDP housing strategy: - and these could  be found on page 16/17 - briefly the following comments were noted as follows:-

§  Over eight years had passed since the appeal decision- housing situation has changed

§  An estate built in two phases of construction, both completed at a quick build rate to meet market demand

§  The quality of the homes was of a high standard

§  The estate was located within a defined Linked Settlement and within a sustainable location within the village

§  This would bring new housing at a reasonable price to the market in Ferwig from a reliable local developer employing local workers

§  Significant need for 4 bedroom homes in the area which would be available  for  local families - therefore the application was made in response to this need. Not everyone wants to live in the town so it was important to give people a choice of where to live

§  There would be no negative impact on the development as it would utilize existing infrastructure and services

§  The applicant's agent had confirmed that the applicant was willing to enter into a section 106 agreement to provide a commuted sum of 10% which would be a significant amount

§  This would be a great opportunity to complete the construction of this ideal estate in the village of Ferwig - which was started some eleven years ago.