Agenda item

Erection of 17 affordable dwellings, access, car parking, landscaping and associated works

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Cemlyn Williams

Link to relevant background documents

 

 

DECISION: To defer the application in order to receive a further transportation assessment together with more photographs / video of the site and its relation to the nearby secondary school 

Construction of 17 affordable housing, access, parking spaces, landscaping and associated works

 

Attention was drawn to the late observations form.

 

a)    The Planning Manager highlighted that this was a full application for the construction of 17 affordable dwellings, including 6 x two-storey houses for four persons, 6 x two-storey houses for five persons, 2 x two-storey houses for seven persons, and 3 x bungalows for three persons, together with the construction of an entrance and access road, landscaping and swales in the south eastern corner of the site to contain surface water.  The site was located amongst houses in the town of Caernarfon, opposite Syr Hugh Owen secondary school with the site approximately 0.55ha - 17 units resulted ina density of 30.9 houses per hectare, which complies with Policy PCYFF 2 in the Plan.

 

It was explained that the principle of erecting housing on this site was based on Policy PCYFF1, TAI 1, TAI 15 and PS 5 of the LDP which notes that proposals will be approved within development boundaries in accordance with the other policies and proposals in the Plan, national planning policies and other material planning considerations.

 

According to Policy ISA 5, new housing proposals for 10 or more dwellings, in areas where existing open spaces cannot meet the needs of the proposed housing development, should provide suitable provision of open spaces in accordance with the Fields in Trust (FIT) benchmark standards. The current information received from the Joint Planning Policy Unit shows that there is a lack of play areas with equipment for children locally and as part of the proposal and to this end, therefore, a financial contribution will need to be made in order to meet this lack of provision. Confirmation was received from the applicant, stating that they would be willing to make a contribution of £3346.16 and this can be secured via a legal 106 agreement. The proposal was not considered to be contrary to Policy ISA 5 of the LDP, as well as SPG: Open Spaces in New Housing Developments.

 

It was noted that the Council's Transportation Unit had submitted observations stating that the proposal would not disrupt road safety although the observations received objecting to the application on the grounds of road safety were acknowledged. With conditions and a financial contribution to ensure improvements to the road via a 106 agreement, the proposal was considered in accordance with the transportation policies.

 

It was reported that the Council had received correspondence from local residents stating that the lowest part of the site floods during periods of heavy rain and with concern that the development would exacerbate the situation, rather than resolve the flooding problems on the site. Nevertheless, information was received with the application to show that an effective, sustainable drainage system can be designed for the site, that would improve the current situation.

 

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

·         That the greenfield site had been empty since its use as allotments had ended, and it had no specific land designation or development restrictions

·         The land was not an accessible open area for the public and therefore no one currently used it. 

·         As the site was empty and surrounded by developments, nearby housing had been impacted by water draining from the site. There was no drainage infrastructure currently on the site this had led to the flooding of Cae Berllan gardens following heavy rain. 

·         That the development included comprehensive drainage infrastructure that would improve the current situation this included soakaways to ensure that any water remained on the site, protecting nearby residential dwellings.

·         Adra proposed an access point where the existing gate was situated. 

·         Highway design guidelines recommend a minimum of 20m between a new entrance and crossings - the new access would be over 50m away from the controlled crossing and the entrance to Ysgol Syr Hugh, which is much more than the requirements.  Existing crossings enable pupils to cross Ffordd Bethel safely to gain safe access to local schools. The development does not affect these crossings.

·         Highway experts have confirmed that the development would not affect local traffic.   However, Adra acknowledge that residents have concerns and as a result they have agreed to a financial contribution that would enable Gwynedd Council to improve the existing situation. Caernarfon Town Council and local residents will be part of the discussion on how to use this financial contribution.

·         The application proposed building 17 affordable house for local people at social and intermediate rent levels.  There were 440 applicants for 2, 3 or 4 bedroom houses on the waiting list for the Cadnant ward only with a figure of 1582 applicants in Caernarfon - these figures indicate the need for affordable housing that will enable families to stay locally.  

·         The Cabinet Member for Housing recently stated that there was a housing crisis in Gwynedd that was evident in Caernarfon. 

·         How affordable are houses? Prices in Gwynedd have increased by over 16% in the last 12 months ... with a higher increase for 2, 3 and 4 bedroom properties in Caernarfon.  Local families have no chance to buy houses locally.

·         The development of mixed rental tenures will contribute hugely to starting to resolve the housing crisis.

·         Every expert consultee supported this development and there was no technical reason to refuse the application.  

·         Should the application be approved, the houses would be ready in 15 months’ time for local people.  With the open spaces that were part of the application, this would allow nearby residents to use the site once more. These should be significant factors in favour of the proposal in terms of planning policy.  

 

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

·         That he accepted the need for housing, but questioned that there was not more demand for single-storey buildings that would release housing for families.

·         That he objected to the application on the grounds of safety and flooding

·         The land had not been designated due to access problems - therefore it was not suitable for development. In the past, two outline applications had been submitted, however, they had not been developed due to access reasons

·         There was a lack of response to the Town Council's concerns

·         It was surprising that the Transportation Department did not anticipate transport problems - only 6 houses had been built on the nearby Llwyn Ceirios estate due to access issues - why was the situation acceptable by now?

·         Following an investigation into transportation problems in the area, yellow lines had been painted in Cae Berllan and y Glyn - this recognised the problems

·         The photographs submitted did not reflect the situation

·         The Transportation Unit had conducted a study in September - during lockdown and Ffordd Bethel was closed to traffic due to work on the bypass - this suggested less use and therefore was not a fair reflection of the situation.  

·         It was disappointing that no photographs of the flooding in November had been included in the submission - there were historical flooding issues here 

·         The children's safety was a priority - access to the estate opposite and access to the School were used by the majority of the children, rather than the vehicular access

·         The School's Governors had highlighted their concern

·         It was suggested that the Committee should visit the site to understand the situation

 

ch) It was proposed and seconded to defer the application so that further observations regarding road safety could be received following the suggestion of the Local Member and the Town Council and to visit the site.

 

d)    In response to the suggestion to conduct a site visit, the Head of Legal Services noted that a specialist transportation assessment had been undertaken and this was more appropriate than holding one site visit. The Senior Engineer - Development Control added that the assessment had been undertaken by the applicant and the developer had offered to hold discussions with the community.

 

The Assistant Head noted that the application was 100% for affordable housing within the development boundary with specialist input from transportation specialists.  He suggested that it would be possible to present a video giving a better context to the location.   He added that the applicant had also offered additional measures in response to the traffic control concerns and was willing to discuss the matter with the community.

 

dd) During the ensuing discussion the following points were made by members:

·         The area outside the School (900+ pupils) it was a very busy place - the photographs did not show this

·         Had the allotments been relocated?

·         Why was it necessary to use a greenfield site?  Was there a brownfield area available?

·         In favour of affordable housing - a suggestion to erect 20mph signs outside the School (as the Welsh Government suggested)

·         Entrance was unsuitable - a further assessment was required of the situation at busy times

·         More information was needed and a second transportation assessment

·         The School's entrance had not been highlighted in the plans / photographs - need to consider pedestrian paths

·         The application was a response to the need for affordable housing in Caernarfon

 

RESOLVED to defer the application in order to receive a further transportation assessment together with more photographs / video of the site and its relation to the nearby secondary school