Last-minute bid made to defer Cardiff sewage pumping station decision

Ted Peskett, Local Democracy Reporter

A last-minute attempt has been made by residents opposed to controversial plans for a new sewage development in Cardiff to delay its conclusion.

Llandaff North residents opposed to plans to transport sewage from the Plasdwr housing development to Hailey Park, with the backing of a number of local politicians, have put pressure on Cardiff Council’s planning committee to defer two planning applications.

Among these is an application to construct a sewage pumping station at Hailey Park. The applications are scheduled to be decided at a Cardiff Council planning committee meeting today, September 8.

The second application is a proposal to re-discharge a condition in the Plasdwr application, which calls for a ‘masterplan’ that demonstrates how sewage will be drained from the housing development in north west Cardiff.

Discharging a condition involves considering and making a decision on the acceptability of a particular detail of an approved planning application.

Llandaff North Residents Association is seeking to push back a decision on both applications by at least a month in order to give members of the public more time to digest new documentation added to the applications over the past month.

These include an amended report and a screening opinion, which assesses the need for an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Deferment call

Cardiff Council ward member for Llandaff North, Cllr Jennifer Burke-Davies, confirmed that she asked for a deferment on the planning decisions relating to Hailey Park.

Both she and fellow ward member, Cllr Dilwar Ali, are opposed to the development of a sewage pumping station.

Senedd Members, Rhys ab Owen and Heledd Fychan have also backed the calls for a deferment.

The development of Plasdwr in the north east of Cardiff means that more sewage will need to be transported to an existing waste water treatment works.

Cog Moors Wastewater Treatment Works does not have the capacity to take on all the sewage from Plasdwr, so part of it will need to be transported to Cardiff Wastewater Treatment Works in the south east of the city.

The sewage pumping station, proposed for land near the Ty Mawr Road entrance to Hailey Park, will allow sewage from Plasdwr to be pumped up to an existing sewage system and transported to Cardiff Wastewater Treatment Works.

When asked if a decision had been made whether or not to defer the applications due to be decided this week, a Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “The matter is being discussed with the chairman of the planning committee.”