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Agenda item

Residential development of six dwellings, access and associated works

 

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Gareth T Morris Jones

 

Link to relevant background documents

 

Decision:

To refuse the application

 

Reasons:

 

1.    The housing provision in Morfa Nefyn is already significantly higher than the provision set by the Joint Local Development Plan, and therefore it is not believed that the proposal would meet the acknowledged local need for housing. As a result, the development would lead to an overprovision of open market housing the community, which is contrary to the requirements of policy TAI 4 of the LDP and the settlement strategy included in policy PS 17.

 

2.    No sufficient reason has been provided within the application as to why an affordable unit cannot be provided on the site, and therefore the application is contrary to the requirements of Policy TAI 15 of the LDP.

 

3.    Due to the narrowness of the access route to the site and the detrimental impact on the flow and convenience of private and service transportation which will use it, it is likely that the development will have negative impacts on the amenities of local residents and users of Lôn yr Eglwys, including those who attend Ysgol Morfa Nefyn; therefore, the proposal is contrary to the requirements of policy PCYFF 2 of the LDP with regard to protecting the amenities of land users near development sites. 

 

On the basis of the information submitted in the Linguistic Statement, the LPA is not convinced that the development would not have a negative impact on the Welsh language, contrary to the requirements of policy PS1

Minutes:

Residential development of six dwellings, access and associated works

 

         Attention was drawn to the late observations form.

 

a)    The Planning Manager elaborated on the background of the application, noting that this was a full application for a residential development to include six detached dwellings, access road and associated works on the site of the former Catholic Church at Morfa Nefyn,that has by now been demolished.

 

It was highlighted that an appeal had been submitted in relation to the application due to the failure to determine the application within the target of 8 weeks. It was added that late information had been received from the agent regarding a public footpath and a revised language statement.

 

It was explained that policy TAI 4 noted the need for any housing proposals within coastal/rural villages to be of a scale, type and design that was in keeping with the character of the settlement.  A comparatively lower level of development was promoted for these Villages in order to protect their character and support the community need for housing or affordable housing for local need. In recognising that an offer of financial contribution had been made towards the provision of local affordable housing, the development would comprise six substantially sized open market houses that would add to the over-provision of housing in the settlement since the adoption of the LDP. 

 

In the context of affordable housing, as two or more units were offered as part of the proposed development, Policy TAI 15 notes that at least 10% of the units are expected to be affordable.  It is also noted in the policy, where the affordable housing requirement of a particular scheme falls below a single dwelling on the site, as in this case, then providing an affordable unit within that development will remain the priority.  None of the units proposed as part of the application are affordable and it was highlighted that the applicant had offered a financial contribution equivalent to 0.6 unit towards the provision of local affordable housing.   It is not clear why at least one affordable house could not be included as part of the plan and therefore it was considered that the plan did not meet the requirements of policy TAI 15.

 

In the context of language matters, it was highlighted that a Welsh Language Statement had been submitted with the planning application and reported that on the whole the impact of the development on the Welsh Language in the local community would be neutral and the affordable contribution would assist towards the provision for local people. However, it was noted that the Language Unit (in the late observations form) had noted, in their opinion that insufficient information had been submitted in the application's documents to support the opinion of a neutral impact.  A recommendation had been made for the applicant to reconsider the information and resubmit the statement prior to submission to the Planning Committee. Although additional information had been received (29/01/21) it did not respond to all the concerns of the Language Unit and therefore the officers were not convinced in terms of language matters.

 

In the context of the access road it was reported that the road was very narrow, the width of one vehicle, and due to its nature, it would not be adopted as a public road by the County Council and the estate road continued to be private.  It was suggested that there would be a likely, significant and consistent increase in the use of the access road on the junction with Lôn yr Eglwys and close to Ysgol Gynradd Morfa Nefyn (which itself generated traffic that caused current inconvenience to local residents).  In light of matters such as the need to collect litter from the entrance to the access road, it was considered that there was a likelihood that there would be intervention in terms of the impact on the convenience of access, parking problems and traffic flow difficulties that would be unacceptable to nearby residents.  In addition, despite the efforts submitted in the plans to provide a safe and tidy bin store area, due to the nature of such a facility, in such a restricted spot, it was considered that it was inevitable that those arrangements would add to litter and untidiness problems near the access. 

 

Although there were some positive features in the plan submitted, approval of the application could not be recommended due to the failure to satisfy the requirements of the LDP's housing policies, the impact on the amenities of residents in terms of the proposal as well as language concerns. 

 

b)    Taking advantage of the right to speak, the applicant’s agent noted the following points:

·         It was disappointing that the concerns noted in the report had not been mentioned or discussed with the applicant before the application was reported to Committee - all the information had been submitted to the Council since October. 

·         Policy TAI 4 stated that proposals for open market housing in villages such as Morfa Nefyn would be granted provided the size, scale, type and design of the development was in keeping with the character of the village and that the site wass located within the development boundary. The report noted that the development of 6 houses was a 'large windfall' site as noted in Policy PS 16.  However, policy PS 16 did not refer at all to 'large windfall sites' and did not define them.  

·         The report noted that the proposal would not make any contribution to meet with the community need for housing. Despite this, the housing mix assessment contradicted this.The report noted that the population in Gwynedd was expected to grow over the next five years with an increase in the number of children in the long term. This suggested that there would be a need for larger houses, as offered as part of the proposal to satisfy the housing needs of families.

·         From the construction patterns in Morfa Nefyn (period between 2011 and 2020), no 4+ bedroom units were built. This meant that the percentage of 2 and 3 bedroom houses were higher than the 40% and 30% highlighted within the Gwynedd Local Housing Market Assessment.  

·         The mix of proposed housing helped to address the needs of the community for larger houses and to expand the range of housing available in the county in accordance with policy TAI 8.

·         No request had been received from the Council questioning the intention to provide a financial contribution and officers in the policy unit confirmed that the units are larger in size than what was considered suitable as an 'affordable house'. 

·         That a a statement that the proposal would have a detrimental effect on the flow of traffic and the amenities of local residents was contrary to the observations of the Highways Officer who was of the opinion that the increase in traffic would not be significant, and would not lead to congestion on the road.  

c)    Taking advantage of the right to speak, the Local Member made the following points:

·         The prices of the houses were out of the reach of local people

·         Although anticipating a recommendation to refuse, the application had been called in in case it might slip between complex policies

·         There were too many holiday homes and open market houses in Morfa Nefyn - only affordable houses were needed

·         The development would be harmful to the Welsh language

·         The houses would affect the privacy of nearby houses 

·         That the access was too narrow (9.5') and only allowed one vehicle at a time. There was no space to widen the access and it was not suitable as it was for a fire engine or waste vehicle

·         The development added to traffic problems in front of the Primary School

·         The development would cross a public footpath - that the Council had an open application regarding having better use of the pubic footpath

 

ch) It was proposed and seconded to refuse the application

 

d)    During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by members:

·         The reasons for refusing the application were clear in the report.

·         The village had suffered as a result of the impact of incomers

·         There were too many houses in Morfa Nefyn

·         Open market housing would destroy the village from the point of view of the language

·         That the use of the 'private road' was likely to cause problems

·         'Affordable'? Who decides? The prices of the open market houses would be out of reach of local peoples' wages

·         Need to protect our cultural values.

 

dd) In response to a question regarding the instructions to complete the language assessment the Planning Manager noted that a template in the Local Development Plan set out the guidelines to complete the language assessment and the template had been available since the Plan had been adopted. It was added that Planning Unit Officers had no control over the contents of the language assessment and it was only Officers from the Language Unit who offered observations. 

 

       In response, it was suggested that there was a need for more detailed guidelines and information regarding the requirements shared with applicants. It was proposed that Officers would contact the Member directly to discuss the procedure.           

 

         RESOLVED: To refuse the application

 

          Reasons:

 

          1.            The housing provision in Morfa Nefyn is already significantly higher than the provision set by the Joint Local Development Plan, and therefore it is not believed that the proposal would meet the recognised local need for housing. As a result, the development would lead to an over-provision of open market housing in the community, which is contrary to the requirements of policy TAI 4 of the LDP and the settlement strategy included in policy PS 17.

 

          2.            No sufficient reason has been provided within the application as to why an affordable unit cannot be provided on the site, and therefore the application is contrary to the requirements of policy TAI 15 of the LDP.

 

          3.            Due to the narrowness of the access route to the site and the detrimental impact on the flow and convenience of private and service transport which will use it, it is likely that the development will have negative impacts on the amenities of local residents and users of Lôn yr Eglwys, including those who attend Ysgol Morfa Nefyn; therefore, the proposal is contrary to the requirements of policy PCYFF 2 of the LDP with regard to protecting the amenities of land users near development sites. 

 

          4.            On the basis of the information submitted in the Language Statement, the LPA is not convinced that the development would not have a negative impact on the Welsh language, contrary to the requirements of policy PS1

 

Supporting documents: