Car dealer faces closure over hydroelectric plans says ‘they are leaving me high and dry’

Anthony Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

The owner of a car dealership fears losing his livelihood and only source of income when a new hydroelectric scheme is built.

John Pritchard has run Riverbank Car Sales in Treforest for five years but the garage itself has been there for more than 50 years serving the community.

Now he faces his business having to close because a new hydroelectric scheme planned on the River Taff would require the demolition of his garage for it to go ahead.

He said the council had been so vague with him when it had approached him and that it had not committed to anything in terms of an offer.

Mr Pritchard, 44, said: “I am a one man band. It is everything I’ve got. It is my livelihood. They (the council) are leaving me high and dry.”

He said it meant he was unable to plan for the future, adding: “It is my only source of income. I literally don’t know what to do.”

He said he was offered an alternative up in the Valleys, but it was not like with like.

Mr Pritchard said: “It would close the business as small properties such as this simply aren’t available on the market.”

The council said the scheme had received planning permission with consent in place for five years but that it was currently on hold while it awaited confirmation on funding for it.

A spokesperson for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: “The Treforest Weir hydroelectric scheme is an innovative project that the council is keen to deliver.

“The council has proactively sought planning permission to enable the project to be progressed – and will now be seeking to establish an appropriate funding package for its delivery, working with potential external funders to secure the investment needed. Planning permission has now been secured with consent being in place for five years.

“The future progression of the scheme would be made in conjunction with all affected landowners. While the car sales site would be impacted, officers have informed the business owner that the scheme is currently on hold pending the confirmation of the funding package.”

Hydroelectric renewable energy 

The plan is for the hydroelectric renewable energy scheme to provide electricity for the Lido in Pontypridd.

The planning application and a listed building consent application were approved by planning committee on Thursday, April 16, for Treforest Weir in the River Taff between the A4054 (Cardiff Road) and the B4595 (Forest Road) just south of the Broadway and Glyntaff Interchange in Treforest.

The development will use water from the River Taff to provide a substantial proportion of the electricity demands of the National Lido of Wales in Ynysangharad War Memorial Park in Pontypridd.

Details submitted with the application indicate that the hydroelectric scheme will have a total installed capacity of 215-300kW (kiloWatts).

It will mainly make use of the existing weir and peripheral structures at the site but a new hydraulic channel will be built adjacent to the weir, on the western bank of the river.

This will replace an existing fish pass and intake sluice. The existing weir and fish pass is designated as a listed building so listed building consent was applied for too.

Report 

A planning report said a new vehicle access would be created off the B4595 in order to enable the initial construction of the hydroelectric scheme and allow for future maintenance requirements of the site.

It also said an existing business to the north of the site, Riverbank Car Sales, would be impacted by the proposed works and that the existing use of the site would have to temporarily stop to enable the hydroelectric scheme to be developed.

The report said that the existing garage building would need to be
demolished and the land used for both access and as a construction compound.

The works include a debris screen, intake screen and head race channel, Kaplan hydroelectric turbine and turbine house, outfall and outfall screens, a replacement fish pass, electricity cable and transformer substation buildings and access.

Objection

One letter of objection was received which said the proposal included the demolition of an adjacent business premises which would take away the owners’ livelihood should permission be granted.

It said this was having a detrimental effect on the business owners’ mental health.

The objection said that discussions with RCT’s corporate estates team were vague and no offer had yet been made.

It also said the existing garage site was narrow and would be impossible to run should the business owner have to give up any part of the business.

And it said there were no other premises available in the locality with planning permission for vehicle sales.

Planning officers 

But, in recommending approval for the planning application, planning officers said: “The proposed hydroelectric scheme would make use of an existing watercourse and would generate electricity for use by the National Lido for Wales in Ynysangharad War Memorial Park in Pontypridd.

“This would go some way in helping to meet Welsh Government’s renewable energy targets of generating 70% of Wales’s electricity consumption from renewable energy by 2030.

“The scheme is considered to be modest in terms of its scale and would have very little impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area given that the site is not particularly visible from the surrounding area.

“The turbine itself would be housed within a turbine house which is considered visually acceptable and in context with the existing weir and fish pass at the site.

“Furthermore, the development would have little impact on surrounding residential properties and the proposed access to the site is also considered acceptable.”

Listed building 

On the listed building consent application, officers said: “While there are concerns regarding the direct impact of the works on the heritage asset, these are mitigated by the benefits of the renewable energy scheme, the reversibility of the works and the maintenance and preservation of the majority of the original Victorian heritage asset.

“Therefore, and on balance, the application for listed building consent is considered to be acceptable, subject to standard conditions, the conditions specified by Heneb and the favourable referral of the LBC application to Cadw.”