Issue - meetings

Proposed development for the change of use of the former Waterloo Inn Public House (A3 use) and part of the former WH Smiths & USC units (ancillary A1 use) to form 13 no. self-contained residential flats (C3 use) along with internal alterations and reconfiguration to combine two existing retail units to provide stalls for retail purposes on the ground floor.

LOCAL MEMBERS: Councillor Dylan Fernley and Councillor Nigel Pickavance

Link to relevant background documents

DECISION: To approve subject to conditions:

1.         Time - Five years

2.         In accordance with the plans 

3.         Restrict the use class to C3 residential dwellings only

4.         Restrict the construction hours

5.         The objectives of the Green Infrastructure Statement must be implemented

6.         Affordable housing condition

7.         Welsh name

Note: Dŵr Cymru

Proposed development for the change of use of the former Waterloo Inn Public House (A3 use) and part of the former WH Smiths & USC units (ancillary A1 use) to form 13 self-contained residential flats (C3 use) along with internal alterations and reconfiguration to combine two existing retail units to provide stalls for retail purposes on the ground floor.

a)     The Senior Planning Officer highlighted that it was a full application for a property located within the boundary of the Sub-Regional Centre and therefore the principle of developing the site had to be considered against Policy TAI 1 of the LDP. It was reported that the indicative housing supply level for Bangor over the LDP period was 969 units. During the period between 2011 and 2025, it was noted that a total of 821 units had been completed in the city and the windfall land bank i.e. sites with extant planning permission on sites not designated for housing, stood at 164 units in April 2025. While the provision was already being addressed through the sites in the land bank, in such circumstances consideration would be given to the units that had been completed thus far within the Main Centres tier. Policy PS 17 of the LDP stated that 53% of housing growth would be located within the Sub-Regional Centre and Urban Service Centres with a shortfall of 135 units in terms of windfall provision within this tier.

By adding 13 residential units to the housing stock, this development would help to contribute towards the LDP's housing targets in a way that responded positively to the requirements of the local housing market and, therefore, it was believed that the proposal could be accepted under TAI 1 and PS 17 of the LDP. It was noted that Policy TAI 9 of the LDP approved the sub-division of existing properties into self-contained flats provided they conformed to a number of criteria discussed in the report. It was believed that the proposal was acceptable based on the requirements of Policy TAI 9.

Reference was made to the Housing Mix assessment, which was part of the Welsh Language Impact Assessment submitted, which noted that the projections of the Gwynedd Local Housing Market Assessment 2018-2023 showed a continuous growth in the number of 1 and 2 people households against a consistent shortage of suitable property. It was highlighted that the assessment indicated that while there was good provision for the student accommodation market in Bangor, there was a significant shortage in the young professionals' market for high-quality units. It was considered that sufficient evidence had been submitted that there was a local demand for the size and type of units proposed here and, therefore, that the housing mix was appropriate and complied with policy TAI 8.

The site was located in a mixed-use area, which included residential uses as well as commercial and business uses. It was not considered that there would be a significant impact on the residential amenities of nearby properties in terms of over-looking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10