Issue - meetings

Residential development of 4 affordable dwellings together with associated accesses and parking (amended scheme to that originally submitted).

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Elwyn Jones

Link to relevant background documents

DECISION: To delegate the right for the Assistant Head of Environment Department to refuse the application on the grounds of the following reasons: -

1.      The proposal is contrary to the requirements of Policy PCYFF 2 (development criteria) of the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan 2017 as it does not comply with all relevant policies within the Plan that relate to proposals to develop affordable housing.

2.      The proposal is contrary to the requirements of Policy TAI 8 (appropriate housing mix), Policy TAI 15 (affordable housing threshold and distribution), Policy TAI 16 (exemption sites) along with the advice contained in the Supplementary Planning Guidance: Affordable Housing and Technical Advice Note 2: Planning and Affordable Housing as no firm evidence has been received from the applicant which undoubtedly confirms that the need for affordable housing on an exemption site in Rhiwlas has been proven and that the price of the houses themselves is affordable for local people.

3.      The proposal is contrary to the requirements of Policy PS 1 (the Welsh language and culture) along with the advice contained in the Supplementary Planning Guidance: Maintaining and Creating Distinctive and Sustainable Communities as no firm evidence has been received which confirms that the development meets the needs of the local community that would protect and/or promote the Welsh language in Rhiwlas.

A residential development of four affordable dwellings together with associated accesses and parking (amended scheme to that originally submitted)

a)    The Planning Manager explained that this was an application to erect four affordable dwellings for local need on a site on the outskirts of Rhiwlas village. He noted that this was an amended application to that submitted to the Planning Committee in February 2018 for five affordable dwellings, which had been deferred on the following grounds: (i) to ask the developer for evidence of a real need for three-bedroom social housing in the village of Rhiwlas; (ii) to receive confirmation whether or not a registered housing association was interested in the units as well as (iii) information about waiting lists for social housing in the area.

It was noted that the application contained the following elements:

·         Erect 2 two-storey, two-bedroom houses and erect 2 two-storey, three-bedroom houses in the form of a terrace.

·         Provide separate accesses for each house along with private driveways for off-road parking.

·         Provide domestic sheds/storage as well as a laundry drying area at the rear of the houses.

·         Culverting approximately 26m of the ditch that ran through the eastern corner of the site.

It was reported that the site was located outside the development boundary as included in the LDP but directly abutted the boundary. It could therefore be considered as an exemption site.

It was noted that the principle of constructing affordable housing on the site was established in Policy TAI16 of the Local Development Plan (exemption sites) which noted that a development immediately adjacent to a development boundary must be for 100% affordable housing if it could be shown that there was a proven local need for affordable housing that could not be met on a site within the development boundary.

The indicative supply level for Rhiwlas over the lifetime of the Plan was noted as nine units. Two units had been completed in the village between 2011 and 2020, and the figure for the land bank within the village was one unit. Considering this information, approval of the application on the site would be supported against the indicative supply level.

The planning application for five dwellings had been deferred by the Planning Committee in 2018 because the developer was required to evidence a real need for three-bedroom social housing in the village of Rhiwlas. In the meantime, the applicant had reduced the number of dwellings from five to four, nevertheless he had not presented robust or clear evidence to confirm that the need existed for three-bedroom social housing in Rhiwlas despite having submitted a Planning Statement and Affordable Housing Statement to support the application. It was highlighted that the Affordable Housing Statement referred to the need for social housing in the village based on figures in the Council's Housing Options register, which showed that 38% needed a two-bedroom house and 24% needed a three-bedroom house out of a total of 98 people. It was added that these were figures for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7