Councillor told off over ‘inappropriate’ favouritism comment

Dale Spridgeon, Local democracy reporter

A councillor was told off after accusing planners of “favouritism” during a discussion which saw the development of eight affordable homes in a seaside village approved.

Cllr Gareth Williams, the member for Pen draw Llyn, was warned that his accusation was “completely inappropriate” during a Cyngor Gwynedd planning meeting recently.

The committee had been discussing an application for the homes lodged by Owain Williams, of Williams Homes (Bala) Ltd, with the properties to be owned by Grŵp Cynefin.

The homes had attracted some local objection but the scheme, for a site at Lôn Deunant, was agreed with conditions.

The proposal includes three two-bedroom bungalows, four two-storey, three-bedroom houses and one two-storey, four-bedroom house, and includes parking spaces and gardens.

An amended plan to exchange the location of the two semi-detached bungalows with the pair of three and four bedroom houses had been submitted.

Planning officer Gwawr Hughes said Aberdaron was a rural, coastal village with just 95 houses and few facilities.

The site was outside the development boundary, but within the Llyn Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Llyn and Ynys Enlli Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest, and within 500m of a schedule ancient monument.

The homes were expected to meet “local, affordable need,” defined as “people in need of affordable housing who have lived within the village or surrounding rural area for five years or more, consecutively.”

“A need had been confirmed” for these homes, she said.

A report noted the community council and locals had queried the need, and cited scores of issues, including over-development, pressure on the school, the impact on the Welsh language and culture, increase of noise, traffic and maintaining the affordability for perpetuity.

Local member Cllr Gareth Williams said the application had gathered some local objections, although efforts to avoid overlooking in the amended plan had been “appreciated.”

The councillor also expressed his concern that he had not been invited to a site visit by members, but that his “major concern personally” was the “inconsistency by the planning department.”

“Planning applications like these, by housing agents, receive much better fair play, favouritism from the the planning department, ” he said.

“The fact that there is a lack of social housing across the county, grants available to build them, make it very difficult for the department to refuse them, and possibly there is pressure from the Welsh Government.”

He added that “a point questioned by many local residents, is there a real need for these eight houses on Lôn Deunant?”

He also asked for “a change of rules” so that local ward members could see housing lists, unavailable due to data protection, to “see if there was a real local need,” he said.

He called for members to respect the views of the community council and residents saying “it’s their village and community that will be affected by this development.”

The council’s monitoring officer Iwan Evans then said he wanted to “make a few points to confirm an email had been sent to the local member to invite him to the site visit.”

He said: “Accusing the planning officers of favouritism is a completely inappropriate accusation.”

Following a short discussion over the numbers on the housing list, and a vote, the decision was made to approve the application with conditions. Seven voted in favour, no abstentions and three against.