‘Clear opposition’ to border town’s new housing plan

Twm Owen Local Democracy Reporter

A petitioner has claimed clear opposition to plans for new housing, a hotel and care home on the “only clear green field” approaching a Welsh border town. 

The plans for 146 homes at fields at Mounton Road, Chepstow and which also include a potential 80 bed hotel with a care home with the same number of bedrooms are included in Monmouthshire County Council’s replacement local development plan intended to guide where new developments should be located through to 2033. 

But conservation architect Richard Liddell, who was a senior planning officer with the former Monmouth District Council, said the fields, which are near the Highbeech roundabout that is notorious for congestion, have long been protected from development.

Petition

He said: “The Gwent strategic plan in 1981 designated the fields at Mounton as green space and they were considered as important as the gateway to the Wye Valley and that designation has been kept in successive amendments to the plan.” 

His petition said the plans would “destroy the only clear green field view when approaching Chepstow” from the south.

The Chepstow resident collected a petition from residents of one housing estate as an exercise “to gauge the extent of support in Chepstow for objections” to the proposals for Mounton fields, which would still have to be subject to a full planning application. Inclusion in the plan would mean the area is considered, in principle, as suitable for development. 

According to Mr Liddell the petition indicated 56 per cent of Chepstow’s adult residents would be opposed to development of the field, but acknowledged his petition is reliant on a small sample size that can produce errors when used as indicative of a wider population. 

The petition was signed by 49 people from 32 addresses of the 46 in Penterry Park, which is less than a mile from the northern end of the fields and the Highbeech roundabout.

“Nimbyism”

Mr Liddell said: “The estate does not overlook the Mounton Road fields, so the accusation of Nimbyism is not applicable.

“Each dwelling was contacted by knocking the front door during the week of December 2 and the occupants who responded were asked if they would like to sign a petition of objection to the proposals.” 

Mr Liddell said the intention has been to collect signatures from one estate as a sample size for Chepstow and said the results, with 49 residents objecting, represents an average of 1.5 persons per household contacted objecting. 

Based on the level of opposition in Penterry Park, Mr Liddell estimated around 70 per cent of Chepstow’s 5,495 households would object to the proposals which he said is 56 per cent of Chepstow’s population aged 18 or over. He based the opposition on those aged at least 18 due to the figures being publicly available, though the minimum age to vote in Welsh council elections is 16.

Review

 As well as identifying use for land the replacement local development plan intends that 50 per cent of all new housing in Monmouthshire is affordable and Mr Liddell said he recognised development is necessary. He said the Bayfield site, further along the A466, that was included in the first strategy of the plan in December 2022 would be better suited for development. 

Reasons for replacing that site with Mounton fields were given to councillors in October when they scrutinised the latest draft of the plan. 

Monmouthshire council’s consultation on the proposals is due to close on Monday, January 16. The council will then consider the responses before submitting the plan, to the Welsh Government, for adoption in the spring. It will then be reviewed by a planning inspector who can make alterations to the plan.