Plaid councillor hits out at ‘fundamentally flawed’ One Planet Development legislation
Katy Jenkins, Local Democracy Reporter
A Pembroke Dock man’s plan to live off grid and off the land as a One Planet Development has been given the green light, despite a Plaid Cymru councillor describing it as “most fundamentally flawed piece of legislation on planning the Welsh Government has produced”.
Stephen De Waine’s application for a one planet development (OPD) on land at Llanycefn, north Pembrokeshire, outlines his plans to live sustainably on the site while meeting environmental policies included in Welsh Government policies.
Mr De Waine, a former fisherman, told Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee on October 4 that reducing his environmental impact was very important to him and his developement will include a cabin, workshop, wind turbine, compost shelter, solar panels, chicken coop, field shelter, six small polytunnels and compost toilet.
Flowers, fruits and vegetables will all be grown on site along with grazing areas and willow coppicing.
The application is partly in retrospect as some minor development relating to an access track had already commenced.
A OPD management plan has been prepared, a report to committee states, and Cllr Jamie Adams asked for assurance that there was capacity to ensure this, along with others recently approved, were monitored properly.
‘Fundamentally flawed’
There was support for Mr De Waine’s plan apart from Cllr Michael Williams who said OPD was the “most fundamentally flawed piece of legislation on planning the Welsh Government has produced.”
He said it allowed people to “get round” the planning system and build in unspoilt landscapes.
Cllr Williams voted against the application “on principle” with other votes against from Cllr Adams and Cllr Aaron Carey.
There were 11 votes in favour of the application.
Daunting process
Few relish the “daunting” process of applying for a One Planet Development in Wales, a recent report has said.
Only 63 applications have been made between 2010-2021 on the back of a One Planet Development policy aimed at encouraging light-touch living in the open countryside.
A total of 39 of them have been approved.
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Good to see Plaid doing its job.
OPD sounds great on paper but it is abused by some as a means of acquiring a holiday home while by-passing standard Welsh planning legislation. It also does relatively little to reduce carbon footprint. It needs to be abolished.