Agenda item

Erection of Affordable dwelling 

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Aled Wyn Jones

Link to relevant background documents

 

To approve

 

 

THE APPLICATION WILL BE REFERRED TO A COOLING OFF PERIOD

 

Construction of affordable dwelling 

 

Attention was drawn to the late observations form.

 

a)            The Development Control Officer highlighted that the application was a full application for the construction of an affordable house (4 bedrooms) on land near Uwch y Don, Pistyll, which had been designated as a Cluster village in the Local Development Plan.

 

It was noted that the application had been discussed at the committee on 13 December 2021, where the application had been deferred in order to receive further information from the applicants to prove their need for an affordable house. Following the Committee financial information, Red Book Evaluation and Valuation for their current house were received. An Amended Plan was also received changing the layout of the house, reducing the size of the plot and changing the boundary treatment, as well as an Ecological Report as the land had been identified as a Wildlife Site. A second consultation was conducted on the new information and much local support was received.

 

It was reported that there was no doubt that the applicant was a local person who had been brought up in Pistyll, but the main matter with the application was the family's need for an affordable house as they already owned a former Council house in Nefyn which was subject to a local 157 condition.

 

It was reported that the application met many criteria in main policy TAI 6, but that Tai Teg had re-assessed the applicants based on the latest financial information and had concluded that the applicants were not eligible for an affordable house. The following reasons had been submitted - that the family were in a suitable property for the family's size, that the property was affordable and that they did not have any specific needs.

 

It was highlighted that the red book valuation for the proposed house had been submitted, noting that the open market price was likely to be £315,000. Although no response had been received from the Housing Strategic Unit to the consultation, it was suggested that a discount of around 50% would be needed to bring the affordable price to £157,000 (which would be affordable for an intermediate property). It was noted that the Local Development Plan only supported proposals for affordable units where it could be ensured that they remained affordable in perpetuity. In such an elevated position with coastal views that could influence the price of the house in future, no guarantees could be given that this house would remain affordable in future.

 

It was explained that the changes to the size and boundary treatments of the plot, as well as the results and recommendations of the Ecological Report submitted, were all acceptable and that the size and design of the house, residential amenities and road matters were acceptable. However, this did not overcome the fundamental problem with the application - the applicants did not meet the requirements of being in need of an affordable house.

 

It was accepted that selling their existing house which was subject to a 157 condition would release a house to local residents, however, this did not provide justification to give consent to building in a rural exception site. It was also accepted that the situation was very frustrating to the applicants and their wish to move, but it was not possible to divert from the policies.

 

Based on the assessment and latest response from Tai Teg, it was recommended to refuse the application as the applicants had not proven an actual need for an affordable house.

 

b)            Taking advantage of the right to speak, the local member made the following points:

·         That the application was unique

·         That the family currently lived in Nefyn under very difficult circumstances, and suffered from anti-social attacks

·         The applicant's parents had offered a piece of land to build a home and improve their quality of life - which was one of the main objectives of the Gwynedd Housing Strategy

·         The applicant assisted his father on the farm

·         The empty Council House had a 157 condition - this restricted who could live there

·         Confirmation had been received from the Housing Department to buy the house back to its ownership - an additional house for another local family

·         Many had taken the time to write in to support the application

·         The applicant had responded to the Officers' requests - had submitted additional reports and information

·         The applicant had clearly shown his need for a home

 

c)            It was proposed and seconded to approve the application

 

ch)       During the ensuing discussion, the following observation by a member was noted:

·         A house would be released for a local family

 

In response to the proposal to approve, the Assistant Head noted that this would be subject to a 106 agreement for applicants who were eligible for an affordable house. It was noted that the applicant was not eligible and that he would not be able to reside in the house.

 

RESOLVED: To approve contrary to the officers' recommendation

 

The Senior Planning Service Manager noted his intention, in accordance with the Procedural Rules of this committee, to refer the application to a cooling-off period and to bring a further report before the committee highlighting the risks associated with approving the application.