Call for double-yellows outside brickworks over ‘head-on collision’ fears

Nicholas Thomas – Local Democracy Reporter

The recent redevelopment at an old brickworks can stay in place despite neighbours’ fears of ‘head-on collisions’ on a bend outside the site.

Double-yellow lines could still be painted along the road outside Risca brickworks in Caerphilly a bid to prevent bad parking and further road safety risks.

Recent near-miss incidents include a disabled man being “forced to mount the pavement” to avoid oncoming traffic – drawing “verbal abuse” from bystanders – and two vehicles that “narrowly avoided” crashing into each other on the bend, a resident claimed.

Peter Heathcott also told Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee these were “two incidents of many” on Dan y Graig Road recently.

Planning

There, the former brickworks has been revived for various business uses including car sales.

The current owner, James Norvill Property, applied for retrospective planning permission to change the use of the site, allowing more diverse uses of the land and the retention of several new buildings.

Mr Heathcott, speaking on behalf of other local objectors, said they “support commercial enterprise” and “welcome any job opportunities” in the area, but were concerned about road safety.

The “single-track” road had “already been obstructed” due to bad parking, and had been the scene of several near-misses, he added.

Cllr Bob Owen told the committee “people are clearly at risk at this site”, and said he had witnessed two drivers narrowly avoid a crash on the bend.

In light of those traffic concerns, Caerphilly Council planners had already proposed planning conditions surrounding parking provision within the site – but these fell short of Mr Heathcott and his fellow residents’ calls for double-yellow lines.

Planning agent Sophie Berry, speaking on behalf of the applicant, noted the concerns but said the site already had permission for general industrial use that was “unconstrained in terms of hours of operation and daily vehicle movements”.

The new application was effectively “an opportunity to control the development” of the old brickworks, she explained, adding the community had “supported [its] reuse”.

Risk

Ms Berry also warned that refusing planning permission for the new uses could mean businesses pull out of the Risca site, putting jobs at risk.

The committee heard that in light of the local traffic concerns, the applicant had offered to keep a yard open for additional parking until proper spaces have been marked out, as a “gesture of goodwill”.

Council planning officer Joe Simmons said he understood residents’ calls for double-yellow lines on the road outside the brickworks, and assistant engineer Lisa Cooper said Caerphilly’s traffic management team was “very supportive” of taking measures to improve highway safety.

“Obviously it’s an issue,” she added. “We can’t guarantee when double-yellow lines will be provided – it’s effectively on the list to get done.”

But senior officer Carwyn Powell said the committee’s decision should only consider the merits of the application itself, which had been “considered acceptable in its own right”.