Planners to consider scheme for affordable homes in Bethel amid housing need

Dale Spridgeon – Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to build 30 new affordable homes in a Gwynedd village have been welcomed amid a “need for affordable local housing”.

An application has been submitted to build the homes on land opposite Stad Cremlyn in Bethel.

The proposal, if approved, would see the development of 100 percent ‘affordable’ rental homes, built on a 1.47 square hectare site currently being used for farm grazing.

New access, an internal access road and associated works would also be built.

In pre-application advice, planning bosses felt there was “little doubt that a local need exists” and said a “justification” for the scheme could be made “for the number of units proposed in this instance”.

Due to its designation for housing within the Local Development Plan the proposal is already being considered by planning officers as “acceptable in principle”.

The application, made by Williams Homes (Bala) Ltd and housing association Adra, states the aim of the scheme is to “provide quality housing in Bethel”.

Demand

Dependent on the availability of Social Housing Grant the scheme would include a mix of intermediate and social rented units.

The intermediate rents would be based on a Local Housing Allowance or 80% of open market rentals.

“The initial housing mix is based on the local need demand figures and the surrounding area,” the plans state.

If the scheme is accepted it would include four bungalows, three two-bedroom and one three-bedroom property.

Three terraced houses, one with three bedrooms and two with two bedrooms, would also included along with 17 semi-detached homes.

Eleven of these would have three bedrooms, six would have two bedrooms and two would have four bedrooms.

There would also be two four-bedroom detached homes as well as four one-bedroom flats.

The document also says the homes would “provide a mix of good quality affordable units, of a variety of types and tenures to meet housing needs for all section of the population”.

The houses would be “energy efficient, built to a high standard and provide living space adequate for comfortable modern living,” the plans say.

The plans added: “The proposed mix addresses the imbalance of housing supply in the area, as most are two and three-bedroom homes.”

The location and type of units would also offer “a solution for young and older households and families,” the application says.

The application was received on August 21, and a consultation closes on September 9, 2023.