Developer launches appeal over massive homes plan amid fears over flooding and traffic problems

Alec Doyle, local democracy reporter

Redrow Homes has lodged an appeal to proceed with plans to build 1,450 homes on farmland after a council in north Wales failed to rule on the application in time.

First lodged in August 2023 and re-submitted in October last year, the plans have prompted a backlash from the local community with 85% of respondents to a public consultation classed as ‘opposed’ to the scheme.

The plans for a 72.85 hectare site at Lower Berse Farm in Bersham include space for a new primary school, community facilities and a wastewater treatment plant.

But Wrexham councillors and residents are concerned that traffic congestion on the A483 Ruthin Road junction would be amplified while flooding issues could put Wrexham Maelor Hospital at risk downstream.

The council is now facing an appeal in front of the Planning and Environment Decisions Wales – the Welsh planning inspectorate – with a hearing expected in the middle of 2026.

Addressing Wrexham County Borough Council’s planning committee Cllr Phil Wynn, who represents the Brynyffynnon Ward where the development is proposed – demanded to know why the application had not been dealt with on time.

“It could have been refused at the time the application was made,” he said. “My frustration is the applicant has run roughshod over local democracy by not providing the information that highways officers have asked for, that flooding officers have asked for.

“This is one of the biggest developments that will happen in Wrexham over the next 15 years and if we can’t judge this down to the minutiae then we’re not doing our jobs as a planning committee or as elected members.”

The Head of Wrexham’s Planning Development Service Matthew Phillips told the committee there were significant pressures on a number of key departments that led to the delay.

Resource issues

“Applications of this significance do take some time to deal with,” he said. “For some of the time the application has been with us there have been resource issues within the development management team and significant resourcing issues in the highways team that have certainly delayed our engagement on certain matters.”

Mr Phillips defended Redrow’s engagement in the process following the ‘roughshod’ comments – which referred to the fact that council departments consulted on the development were still seeking information from the applicant.

“I don’t think it’s entirely fair to say the developers haven’t engaged, they have,” he said. “They have submitted further information, including several iterations of transport assessments for consideration but we haven’t yet reached a point where we’re in agreement that those technical issues have been resolved.”

He added that when discussions began the Local Development Plan was valid and this site was specified within it. When the LDP was scrapped following a legal battle it moved the goalposts for discussions.

Cllr Wynn said he was not against the proposal – but he was concerned that issues of local flooding and the congestion on Junction Four of the A483 at Ruthin Road had not been fully mitigated.

“I support city status for Wrexham,” he said. “With an area of economic growth comes the need for more housing.

“It is the most sustainable site – ideally it would not be in my ward and I think the residents wouldn’t want it there either – but that is the reality.

“The biggest issue that’s caused angst for residents is that effectively the applicant was proposing that a tin of paint would have been sufficient to improve the flow of traffic at the A483 junction on Ruthin Road.

“The Welsh Government spent thousands of pounds proving it needed a £30 million investment to overcome the gridlock there to unlock this and other developments in that area.

“Another major issue is flooding. When this site floods – and it does – cars cannot use Ruthin Road – one of the main arterial roads into Wrexham.

“That flooding then impacts other estates and creates a flow of water into the culvert that runs through Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

“If you’ve ever been round there when we have high waters, the Maelor Hospital is under serious threat of flooding as is the rest of the city centre because the culvert ends up in Brook Street.

“I’m not a nimby (Not In My Back Yard), all I want is for planning applications of this substance to come forward and be worthy of occupancy by the residents there in 15 years time and that the adjacent landowners and homeowners considerations have been put on the table and considered by politicians too.

“I want quality development. I don’t want development that is driven by profit because that is how it comes across to me at this time.”

Objection

Officers recommended four points of objection to take to PEDW – Highways congestion, archaeological finds identified on the site, increased phosphorous in the River Dee area – which would increase regardless of mitigations within the plans – and flood risk.

Vice Chair of the committee Cllr Marc Jones added a fifth objection, that: ‘the proposed development lies outside the settlement limit, within a designated Green Barrier and Social Landscape Area and contains ‘Best and Most Versatile Land’.

However based on the age of the Unitary Development Plan the council now relies on, officers did warn that including that the additional objection could increase the risk of costs being awarded against the authority at appeal.

Mr Phillips did assure councillors however that if they submitted five objections, advice would be given closer to the hearing on how that risk could be reduced.

Councillors voted to work on the basis of all five objections to the scheme.