Housing development set for approval despite warnings residents will suffer horrible smells

Elgan Hearn – Local democracy reporter

An objection has been lodged against a local authority’s proposal to build 13 council homes as potential residents could suffer from pungent farm smells hundreds of times above recommended levels.

The application by Powys County Council’s Housing Services is set to go in front of councillors at a meeting of the planning committee on Thursday, December 18 as it has been deemed to be a “major” application by PCC.

The council wants to build 13 flats, bungalows and houses at land opposite Maesydre on the outskirts of Llanfyllin.

When the application was lodged with county planners a year ago it had been for 16 flats, bungalows and houses.

The final version of the scheme is slightly smaller and is for four one-bedroom bungalows; four one-bedroom flats; two two-bedroom dwellings; and three four-bedrooms, dwellings.

During the consultation process, the council’s Environmental Protection department flagged up concerns about the site and that potential residents could suffer “annoyance” from the smells coming from a farm buildings close to the south eastern boundary of the site.

Senior Environmental Health Protection Officer, Paul Bufton explained that the odour assessment for the site had assumed that the farm would be an “upland farm” that keep sheep in a barn there, for only 40 days a year.

The issue here, according to Mr Bufton, is that the: “farm has no planning controls placed upon it.”

Because of this the landowners or tenants could change their farming practices without the need for planning permission.

This could see more intensive practices being brought and the buildings used to fatten up 200 pigs or calves.

Mr Bufton said that the odour monitoring report does not consider this type of scenario which would in his belief lead to complaints from residents.

Tweaks were made to the proposal which saw the loss of three residential units.
Mr Bufton provided his views on the updated proposal.

He pointed out that residents living in the plots set aside to be “affordable homes” would potentially experience odour 544 times the recommended levels by the Welsh Government environmental watchdog Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

Mr Bufton said: “The nearest property now, plots seven and eight on the plans) would experience odour levels of 1633 OUE/m3, which are significantly higher than NRW’s benchmark of three (3) OUE/m3.

“Properties to the south of the development would still be in excess of 1000 OUE/m3.

“These are big numbers when you are considering odour impacts.

“It remains my position that the proposed new development would be adversely impact by odour if farming practices outside of our control were to change to more odorous activities.

“For this reason, Environmental Protection continue to object to this application.”

But the objection is set to be over ridden.

Senior planning officer Kate Bowen said: “It is recognised that the development would contribute to the provision of housing in the area and the county for which there is an identified need.

“The concerns of council’s Environmental Protection department are appreciated.

“However, following the redesign, the weight afforded to the site’s allocation for housing and the ability to secure some mitigation for potential impacts upon amenity, on balance officers consider that approval can be recommended.”