Council halves major housing site in development plan shake-up

Lewis Smith, Local Democracy Reporter

Members of a south Wales council have approved early stage changes to their replacement local development plan (RLDP), including halving a major housing development, after feedback and consultation with residents.

The changes were made at a full meeting of Neath Port Talbot Council held on February 26 and will now see amendments made to three “key housing sites” in the borough that had been identified within the plan’s preferred strategy.

The RLDP will outline how land use and developments are carried out in Neath Port Talbot over the next 15 years covering a period from 2023-2038.

The current preferred strategy identifies a total of nine sites that would contribute towards the council’s place-making objectives with four sites identified for residential development.

Speaking at the meeting officers told members how changes would be made for land located to the east of Rhos, reducing the allowance for new housing in the area from 400 dwellings to 200.

As a result of this there would also be a change to the education requirement in the area with a smaller duel-stream school that offers both Welsh and English medium set to be put forward.

The report said the change came after a number of concerns were raised by local residents with 252 objections made.

These focused on highway impacts, drainage issues, impacts on biodiversity, and the loss of green fields in the area.

It added the reduction would help mitigate potential impacts on the local community while still delivering “much‑needed affordable housing and Welsh‑medium education provision”.

A further change will also be seen in the plans for Fforest Farm in Aberdulais where proposals for a new special school will be removed.

This will allow for an increase in the housing capacity at the site from 250 to 300 new dwellings.

The report said this was due to “the timescales associated with delivering the
school” which meant the authority would now have to consider an alternative location for the facility.

The council’s preferred strategy is the first statutory consultation stage in the LDP preparation process.

The changes made to it will now be added to the authorities deposit plan which will include the full list of housing allocation required to meet the level of housing need.

The full plan will be presented to council later this year ahead of a further public consultation.