Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To accept any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Louise Hughes, Gareth Coj Parry, Gareth A Roberts, John Pughe Roberts and Councillor Nia Jeffreys (Local Member).

Councillor Louise Hughes was wished a speedy recovery after donating a kidney to her daughter.

Councillor ⁠Dafydd Meurig was welcomed as a new Member of the Committee.

To receive any declaration of personal interest and to note protocol matters.

a)     Councillor Cai Larsen (a Member of this Planning Committee), in item 5.2 C25/06512/23/LL on the agenda, as he was a Member of the Adra Board.

Councillor Gruffydd Williams (a member of this Planning Committee), in item 5.4 C26/0005/46/DA on the agenda, as he was related to the applicant.

The Members were of the opinion that it was a prejudicial interest, and they did not participate during the discussion or vote on the application.

b)     Gwawr ⁠Hughes (Planning Manager), in item 5.1 C25/0824/37/LL on the agenda, as a relative of hers lived near the site.

The officer was of the opinion that it was a prejudicial interest, and she left the Chamber during the discussion on the application.

c)     The following members declared that they were local members in relation to the items noted:

·        Councillor Jina Gwyrfai (not a member of this Planning Committee), in relation to item 5.1 (C25/0824/37/LL) on the agenda

·        Councillor Beca Brown (not a member of this Planning Committee), in relation to item 5.2 (C25/0651/23/LL) on the agenda

·        Councillor June Jones (not a member of this Planning Committee), on behalf of Councillor Nia Jeffreys (Porthmadog East Local Member) in item 5.3 (C25/0686/11/LL) on the agenda

·        Councillor Gareth T Jones (a member of this Planning Committee) in relation to item 5.4 (C26/0005/46/DW) on the agenda

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration.

As a point of order, it was reported that since the Chair was joining the meeting virtually, the Monitoring Officer would be announcing the results of the voting on the applications.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee, held on February 2^nd, 2026, be signed as a true record.

The Chair accepted the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee, held on 2 February 2026, as a true record.

To submit the report of the Head of Environment Department.

The Committee considered the following applications for development. Details of the applications were expanded upon, and questions were answered in relation to the plans and policy aspects.

Full application for the erection of up to 15 No. Affordable Dwellings and Associated Development including creation of a new vehicular access and estate road, landscaping and creation of a sustainable surface water drainage area. 

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Jina Gwyrfai

Link to relevant background documents

DECISION: To approve with conditions and subject to a 106 agreement or unilateral agreement for securing a contribution to open spaces

1.     Time

2.     In accordance with the plans

3.     Materials

4.     Affordable housing condition

5.     Highway conditions

6.     Biodiversity conditions

7.     Landscaping condition

8.     Welsh Water Condition

9.     Removal of permitted development rights involving extensions and use

10.  Drainage matters.

11.  Building Control Plan

12.  Matters relating to air pumps

Full application to build 15 affordable homes with associated developments including the creation of a new vehicular access and estate road, landscaping and creation of a sustainable surface water drainage area.

         Attention was drawn to the late observations form.

         Some members had visited the site on 25-03-26

a)           The Development Control Team Leader highlighted that this was a full planning application to erect 15 new affordable houses, as well as associated work on an adjacent site, but outside the current development boundary of the village of Trefor. ⁠It was reiterated that the provision would offer a mix of houses - 4 two-bedroom bungalows, 5 three-bedroom two-storey houses, 1 four-bedroom two-storey house and 1 six-bedroom house. Externally, they would be finished with a mixture of render, stone and cement cladding on the walls and a natural slate roof and solar panels.

Confirmation was received from the applicant that the development was submitted in the form of a neutral plan in terms of tenure, which would provide 100% affordable housing. The owner would be Grŵp Cynefin, providing a mix of tenure such as social rent housing, intermediate affordable rent housing and part-ownership in accordance with the demand.

It was reported that the land was currently an agricultural field with residential houses to the west and houses directly opposite. It was noted that there was a fence, cloddiau and hedges on the boundaries and a class 3 public road alongside the northern boundary, with the site and the wider area within the designations of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and within the Llŷn and Enlli Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest.

In accordance with the arrangements of the Planning Service Delegation Scheme, the application was submitted to the Committee as it was an application for 5 or more houses. It was considered that the proposal, as submitted, was acceptable based on the following:

·        That the Authority's adopted policies stated that Councils would seek to ensure an appropriate level of affordable housing in the LDP area.

·        The proposal would provide a 100% affordable development with the Housing Strategic Unit confirming that there was evidence of the need to justify the provision, in order to address the needs of the local community.

·        49 was the combined figure on the Tai Teg register for intermediate housing, and the Social Housing register for Trefor, as well as the nearby villages of Llanaelhaearn, Llithfaen and Clynnog for housing. Despite this, and as a result of receiving additional, more detailed and specific information from the agent, the housing need figure had now been noted as a minimum of 25, namely the number of the people on the housing need list who had been identified as having a five-year connection to the area. It was considered that these figures confirmed that real affordable local need existed to justify the development of 15 houses to address the local need.

·        That a further response had been received from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) based on their concerns about the impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Full planning application for 17 affordable dwellings, together with creating new vehicle access and an internal entrance road, closing 2 existing agricultural access points, creating new access to serve a new sub-station, extension works to Glanffynnon Road along with landscaping, drainage, and other related works.

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Beca Brown

Link to relevant background documents

DECISION: To approve with conditions and subject to a 106 agreement or unilateral agreement for securing an open space contribution

1.       Time

2.       In accordance with the plans

3.       Materials

4.       Affordable housing condition

5.       Highway conditions

6.       Biodiversity conditions

7.       Landscaping condition

9.       Removal of permitted development rights involving extensions and use

10.     Drainage matters.

11.     Building Control Plan

12.     Protection of the public footpath.

13.     Archaeological conditions

14.      Public Protection and SPEnergy Networks conditions

Notes:

Highways

Bat Licence

Natural Resources Wales

Welsh Water

Footpaths

SUDS

Major development

Land Drainage Unit

Full planning application for 17 affordable dwellings, together with the creation of new vehicular access and an internal access road, the closure of 2 existing agricultural access points, the creation of a new access to serve a new substation, extension works to Glanffynnon Road along with landscaping, drainage and other associated works.

Attention was drawn to the Late Observations Form

Some members had visited the site on 25-03-26

a)               The Planning Manager highlighted that this was a full application that included 5 two-bedroom two-storey houses, 4 two-bedroom bungalows, 6 three-bedroom two-storey houses, 1 four-bedroom bungalow and 1 five-bedroom two-storey house. The intention was to provide 100% affordable housing with a mix of social and intermediate rented tenure. The site was located outside, but abutted the Llanrug development boundary, with existing residential dwellings to the south, Glanffynnon Road to the west, an agricultural field and empty overgrown land to the east and residential houses to the north. It was proposed to maintain a 3-metre-wide easement between the development, and a watercourse running along the eastern boundary of the site, create an ecological corridor in the south eastern corner of the site and develop a water retention basin in the north and south corners of the site. The public footpath that went through the site would be protected.

Reference was made to the late observations received from the Community Council, which supported the application, as well as observations and confirmation from the Public Protection Service expressing that they had no objection, subject to imposing conditions to protect the residential amenities of nearby houses and those within the development. It was reiterated that SP Energy Networks had confirmed the need to discuss re-installing cables and for this to be imposed as a planning condition.

With the site located outside the development boundary, Members were reminded that all units were expected to be for local affordable need. For Llanrug, this was defined as people in need of an affordable house who had resided in the Village or in the surrounding rural area for a continuous period of 5 years or more, either immediately before submitting the application, or in the past. The rural area was defined in this case as a distance of 6km from the application site and the extent of any Community Council area bisected by the 6km distance but excluding properties within the development boundary of any settlement other than the settlement within which the application was located.

Evidence was submitted in the form of an Affordable Housing Statement and Evidence of Need and Allocation Strategy, referring to the need highlighted on the Social Housing and Tai Teg Register in Llanrug and Cwm y Glo. It was highlighted that Cwm y Glo was a village with a boundary located within 6km of Llanrug, and it was confirmed that there was no opportunity for a housing development to meet its own need.

It was confirmed that the combined need from the Tai Teg and Social Housing Register with a 5-year  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

A proposal to remove the existing boundary wall in order to provide improved access to Cob Crwn, and to create a new footpath for pedestrians and cyclists.

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Nia Jeffreys

Link to relevant background documents

DECISION: To approve with conditions -

1.       5 years

2.       Completion of the proposal in accordance with the Plans

3.       Complete the proposal in accordance with the reasonable mitigation and avoidance measures, and pollution avoidance measures contained within the Initial Environmental Assessment and the tree preservation measures included within the Tree Planning Survey.

4.       Biodiversity enhancements condition

Proposal to remove the existing boundary wall to provide better access to Cob Crwn and create a new footpath for pedestrians and cyclists.

         Attention was drawn to the Late Observations Form.

a)           The Planning Officer highlighted that the existing footpath (an informal one and including a grassed area and an uneven surface) did not comply with the Active Travel standards and the Contemporary Accessibility Standards. The improvement would replace sections of existing grassy surface with a sturdy, level and accessible path.

It was reported that the site lied adjacent to the Llyn Bach car park in an area designated as Flood Zone 3 under policy TAN 15, outside the LDP development boundary and within the Area of Outstanding Historic Interest designation. Confirmation was received from the Land Drainage Unit that an element of the application relating to the sustainable drainage system had been approved. Reference was made to the observations from the Biodiversity Unit stating that biodiversity enhancements had not been included as part of the application, but it would be possible to impose conditions.

It was considered that Policy ISA 2: Community Facilities was the main consideration of this application, which noted the importance of local community and leisure facilities for the local, social, educational, linguistic and cultural needs of the Plan area, as well as its economic well-being. ⁠It was noted that the proposal was a plan for a public path with seating areas and picnic tables to enjoy the outdoors, which would be accessible for all. It was considered that the proposal and the proposed location was appropriate to the site and accessible to the local community; the proposal was completely acceptable based on the requirements of policy ISA 2 of the LDP

In the context of visual amenities, it was not considered that the proposal would significantly impair the visual amenities of the area more than what currently existed. Attention was drawn to an objection received on the grounds of the loss of recreational use of the site, but it was not considered that the path would have a significant detrimental impact on existing users of the site; the proposal was acceptable in terms of Policy PCYFF 2 and PCYFF 3.

With access to the site on a footpath and its convenient location from the town of Porthmadog, this would make it accessible in terms of being able to reach it through existing roads and footpaths as well as through the use of public transport (there is a permanent bus stop nearby) as well as a standard size car park at the start of the path. It was not considered that the proposal would likely cause danger that could not be controlled, therefore it was acceptable on the grounds of the relevant requirements of policy PS 4.

Reference was made to the fact that the site was located approximately 220m away from the Pen Llŷn a'r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and on the basis of the reasonable avoidance measures relating to otters, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Non-material amendment to the design of planning permission C21/0411/46/LL.

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Gareth Tudor Jones

Link to relevant background documents

DECISION: To delegate the right to the Senior Planning Manager to approve the application subject to the following condition:

1.     The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in strict conformity with the details shown on the plan(s) numbered 673-01B, Revised Elevation plan, Ground Floor plan, First Floor plan submitted to the Local Planning Authority on 12 January 2026, and contained in the form of application and in any other documents accompanying such application unless condition(s) to amend them is/are included on this decision notice. Notwithstanding the amendments hereby approved the remainder of the development shall be carried out in accordance with the conditions and details contained within planning permission number C21/0411/46/LL.

Non-material amendment to the design of planning permission C21/0411/46/LL.

a)         The Planning Manager highlighted that this was an application for a non-material amendment to plans granted under a previous Planning permission in 2022 for the erection of a building to keep agricultural equipment and feed including two stables and a tack store. The amendments involved: 

-           Change the orientation of the building on the eastern side of the site compared to the approved plans.

-           Amend some window/roof window openings in various locations compared to the approved plans, and

-           Amend the roofing material to recycled Welsh slate instead of the permitted grey coloured steel sheets.

It was explained that the building had already been constructed and substantially completed. The application was submitted following enforcement inspections and in an effort to regulate the work completed on the site which differed from the permitted plans. 

It was expressed, in accordance with the Council's delegation scheme, that the application was being submitted to the Committee as the applicant was a close relative to an Elected Member of the Council.

It was reported, as it was an application for a non-material change, that the only issues requiring attention were,

-           whether the change was so big that it would have a different impact to the original plan

-           whether the change would have a detrimental impact either visually or in terms of amenities

-           would the interests of any third party or organisation be put at a disadvantage in terms of planning

-           would the proposed change conflict with national or development plan policies?

It was noted that these were only changes to the design of the building and not to the size or use of the building. It was highlighted that doubts had been raised locally about the intended use of the building, but attention was drawn to the fact that a condition, which ensured that the building would only be used for agricultural use or to keep horses, would remain on the permission and it would be possible to monitor any situation for the future.

It was not considered that the changes had an impact on nearby residents or were significantly different from what was previously permitted - the application therefore met the requirements of policy PCYFF 2 of the LDP. 

It was recommended to approve the application subject to relevant conditions.

b)         Taking advantage of the right to speak, the applicant noted the following observations:

•           In accordance with the Council's Regulations, the application was submitted to the Committee due to a family connection with an Elected Member

•           The application for 2 stables, a barn and storage had been approved by the Committee in 2022

•           The application was submitted following inspections from the Enforcement Officer in 2025 who proposed significant changes

•           There was an amendment to the orientation of the building  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.