Controversial Conwy housing site could get green light this week

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

A developer could be granted permission to start work on a controversial north Wales housing site – if councillors give the green light.

John Rochelle was granted outline planning permission for housing at Gyffin grazing field, adjacent to Henryd Road in Gyffin, Conwy, in October 2019, subject to a list of conditions.

The conditions range from providing affordable housing and highway measures, as well as satisfying biodiversity and drainage demands.

Planning officers have marked the application ‘minded to grant’, and now Mr Rochelle has applied to Conwy Council for the discharge of these conditions, meaning work can begin on the development should councillors grant it.

Conwy Council’s planning committee is set to meet on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the planning application.

The grazing field is 0.99 hectare – or about the size of two football pitches.

The application is still outline only, so it’s unknown how many homes could be built.

Whilst the discharge of conditions can usually be done at officer level, the number of objections received by the council – more than five – means the application has returned to the committee for discussion.

Town council concerns

In April Conwy Town Council said it had concerns about the site, citing a lack of pavement in the area and both pedestrian and vehicle safety as fears.

Residents also wrote to the council, complaining about a range of issues.

Those living nearby feared the site would be higher than existing properties, resulting in a loss of privacy.

Residents also complained about the loss of hedges, trees, and the development damaging the views of those living at Bryn Gynog Park, who also feared a loss of sunlight.

Others raised fears about noise pollution and disturbance impacting their mental health and wellbeing.

The long list of concerns sent to Conwy also included loss of TV signals and fears about the height of replacement trees and hedges not being high enough to screen the area.

The site lies within the settlement boundary of the main urban area and is allocated as a housing contingency site in the LDP.

The adjoining land outside the settlement boundary forms part of a designated special landscape area safeguarded for sand and gravel.

The area also lies outside the essential setting of Conwy Castle and the Creuddyn and Conwy Historic Landscape to the north.

The planning application will now be debated by members of the planning committee before a decision is reached.