Backlash over move to axe 2,700-home site after dispute with Welsh Government
Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter
Plans to build thousands of new homes are likely to be axed following a dispute between a local authority and the Welsh Government.
Maesycwmmer was chosen as a “strategic site” for development in a draft of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s updated Local Development Plan (LDP) – a blueprint for planning.
But the government raised concerns about the viability of the site, including that it would have meant the construction of a new road – something that would clash with national climate change strategies, a council meeting heard on Wednesday July 25.
Some councillors were vocal in their criticism of the proposal to omit the Maesycwmmer site from the LDP.
Cllr Judith Pritchard said she was “very disappointed” with the move and urged the council to try and persuade the government to think again.
Traffic
A relief road for Maesycwmmer would be an “advantage” of the project, she told the meeting.
Cllr Martyn James added his own concerns about existing transport, describing traffic along the A472 as “already chock-a-block”.
But strategic planning officer Dave Lucas said the Welsh Government “maintained their objections” following “discussions” about the site.
Mr Lucas also noted the government’s Roads Review of 2023, which signalled an intention to “pull back” from new road-building projects.
Cllr Nigel Dix, speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting, said he was concerned about that approach.
He said it was “unrealistic” to expect thousands of houses to be built without any new roads, and feared it would lead to “fewer homes being built, more congestion and pollution as cars will be stuck in traffic”.
Brownfield sites
During the meeting, Cllr Marina Chacon-Dawson questioned whether there were enough brownfield sites in the county borough to replace the axed Maesycwmmer plan.
She was told there is only a “limited” supply of pre-developed land, meaning the council will “require greenfield land release” for building.
But council officers did not reveal which greenfield sites could be developed for housing, in response to a question from Cllr Kevin Etheridge.
Wednesday’s debate will be followed by a brief, three-week consultation with statutory partners before a new LDP can be finalised.
Caerphilly Council had to go back to the drawing board last year after the government rebuffed its draft replacement LDP – a document which sets out its strategy for new building projects.
Work is under way to meet government targets on regional collaboration and green infrastructure, and the council believes this – along with the scrapping of the Maesycwmmer plan – means it is now in a position to “re-engage” the LDP process.
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Will this mean more houses in the Caerphilly basin?, the infrastructure is already under strain.
The road through Maesycwmmer is complete bedlam most times of the day, never mind rush hour. Without a new road there, any plan for housing is untenable.
Even with a new road it would be untenable, as all it would do would be to increase the flow onto the already overburdened road infrastructure. 2,700 houses is a lot of houses. It’s long been known that building roads in an effort to ease congestion fails, as traffic just expands to fill it.
I wonder how many of the 2,700 houses would end up being bought by retirees from the other side of offas dyke? The area is good for birds and other wildlife and all around is already congested. Good call by WG (the few who thought they’d make millions will be disappointed). How many properties in Caerphilly sit longterm uninhabited I wonder? Get creative!
You’re right about retirees from across the border. They would have been in there like rats up a drainpipe buying off plan. No chance or benefit for anyone local.
Caerphilly county was one of the 3 counties with the highest % of Welsh only identifier at last census. Perception is not the reality. Having lived and worked for 40 yrs in the County, Maesycymmer was one of my daily bottle necks to work. The dualling of the A472 either side of it ensured that, the change from 4 roads to 1 on either side at Pontllanfraith in North and Ystrad Mynach in South. The building of so many houses was always going to be problematic without road changes and should have been obvious to planners from outset. They should… Read more »
I am really pleased the axe has come down on the plans for 2,700 houses.
We need to reduce (and eventually eradicate) the number of empty properties, second, (third, fourth…) and holiday lets instead!
Any housebuilding in Cymru usually only benefits people from over the border. They are falling over each other to get in here on the cheap. They sell their houses for a bundle and buy cheap here and are left with a nice little nest egg for a cushy retirement. But it never happens the other way around.
It’s high time that speculative building like this scheme came to an end and new rules introduced that just allow development to satisfy local needs. There is no way in the world that those 2,700 houses are for local needs, and I suspect that very few of them indeed would be social housing, which is sorely needed.
Indeed. House building in Wales is driven by ideology though not need – that any growth, of whatever kind, is always good.