Outline plans for 150 houses approved

Lewis Smith, Local Democracy Reporter

Outline plans to develop more than 150 houses on the boundary of two Welsh councils have been approved.

The proposals which could see up to 152 new homes developed on land north of Elba Crescent, Crymlyn Burrows, Neath Port Talbot, were given the go-ahead at a council planning committee on December 9, 2025.

The approval gives permission for the development by Hawkland Estates Ltd on a 4.6 Hectare plot of land close to the A483 Fabian Way.

Once completed it would include a mixture of properties ranging from one to four bedrooms with an element of affordable housing.

It will also include new access roads, a green open space at the centre of the site, parking, and the potential for a retail unit to be used as a local needs convenience store.

The brownfield site is located around 4km to the east of Swansea city centre, near to Swansea University’s Bay Campus and a number of industrial premises that are accessed via Ffordd Amazon.

The vacant land is described as being largely flat and is made up of a disused car park and access roads for the previous industrial users, with areas of scrub vegetation and mature trees on some of the site boundaries.

Members in attendance at the meeting heard that there had been 15 objections received about the plans from residents with concerns over traffic and parking along Elba Crescent, along with potential flooding and an over-intensification of student accommodation and HMOs in the area.

However, officers said they supported the application which they considered to be suitable for residential use, and which would “improve the stock and range of local housing.”

They added that this would be restricted to standard residential dwellings with any applications for HMOs needing separate permissions in the future, noting that conditions were already in place in relation to drainage and infrastructure.

The report read: “Outline planning applications allow for a decision on the
general principles of how a site can be developed and for what land uses.

“Outline planning applications are typically used by developers looking to obtain a formal agreement about the amount and nature of development that can take place on a particular site prior to preparing detailed proposals at a later stage.”

It means all details including the layout and design of the properties will still have to be considered and approved by the council’s planning committee at a future date.

Following discussions the outline plans were approved by membersof the committee with a unanimous decision.