Decision details

DECISION: TO REFUSE

Reasons:

1.    The proposal is contrary to the requirements of Policies PS 17, TAI 1 and TAI 8 of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Joint Local Development Plan (2017) as it is considered that the applicant has not submitted sufficient evidence with the application to convince the Local Planning Authority that there is a need for additional one- and two-bedroom flats in Bontnewydd considering that this proposal exceeds the indicative figure noted in the Plan and would create an imbalance in the type and mix of small units within the village, and no evidence has been received that the proposal would respond positively to the needs of the local community.

2.    Evidence was not received about the need for the number of dwellings and up-to-date information within the Welsh Language Assessment to be able to assess whether the proposal meets the requirements of criterion 1c of Policy PS1 of the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan which requires a Welsh Language statement to demonstrate how proposed developments would protect, promote and strengthen the Welsh Language.  On this basis, the Local Planning Authority is not convinced that the proposal would not have a negative impact on the Welsh language in the plan area.

3.    The site lies within an area at risk of surface water flooding, and because sufficient information was not submitted with the Flood Consequence Assessment including a Water Conservation Statement which would have considered the safe development of the site and demonstrated that the proposed development would not displace surface water towards other properties, it is not believed that the proposal is acceptable based on flood risk and that it is, consequently, contrary to criterion 8 of policy PS 5, criterion 7 of policy PCYFF 2, criterion 6 of policy PCYFF 3, criterion 4 of policy PS 6, policy PCYFF 6 together with the instruction provided in paragraph 11.1 of Technical Advice Note 15.

4.    Insufficient information has been submitted as part of the application for assessing the impact of the proposal on the Special Area of Conservation, protected species and wildlife on the site. No Green Infrastructure Statement was submitted either, therefore the proposal is contrary to the requirements of policies PS19 and AMG 5 of the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan (2011-2026) which protect species and wildlife along with the requirements within Chapter 6, Edition 12 of Planning Policy Wales.

5.    The proposal is contrary to policy ISA 5 and the SPG for open spaces as there is no justification for the lack of provision of open spaces within the development while also taking account of the lack of evidence of the need for the number of dwellings and the high development density.