Plans for 30 south Wales houses refused amid fears of overdevelopment

Anthony Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans for 30 houses in south Wales village have been officially rejected by councillors.

The application relating to Tonyrefail and Rhondda Wildlife Sanctuary in Gilfach Road was refused by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) planning committee on Thursday, October 2.

The reason for refusal was that by virtue of the number of units proposed the application is considered to represent an overdevelopment of the site which would be harmful to the form and appearance of the surrounding built environment and local character.

Overdevelopment 

The plans came before the committee in August when councillors decided they were minded to refuse the application against the officer recommendation.

They raised concerns the 30 dwellings would result in an overdevelopment of the site and the site could not cope with the levels of traffic this would generate so it was decided defer a decision for a further report to highlight the potential strengths and weaknesses of taking a decision contrary to officer recommendation.

But since the planning meeting in August the applicant has discussed his options with the council and has submitted revised plans which have reduced the scale of the development by a reducing the number of block of flats from five to four with each block having direct access from the highway.

The internal turning head has also been extended to comply with the RCT standard.

In suggesting they refuse the application committee member Cllr Danny Grehan said he’d feel happier if there was a completely new plan that came before them and said this was an overdevelopment in this location.

In their planning assessment officers said the submitted indicative layout plan shows a total number of 30 parking spaces which would provide one parking space per unit.

They recognised the number of spaces shown on the indicative plan is the below the maximum requirement set out in the council’s access, circulation, and parking supplementary planning guidance (SPG) but said the application is made in outline with all matters reserved therefore car parking provision can be conditioned accordingly and the council would be able to reject any future scheme that would not comply with the required standards.

But they said local development plan (LDP) policies require that off-street car parking provision should be provided in accordance with the council’s SPG and proposed developments should not adversely affect the provision of car parking in the surrounding area.

Scale

In terms of overdevelopment, officers said that during the previous committee meeting the scale and nature of the proposed development were considered to constitute overdevelopment of the application site.

But they said the number of blocks had been reduced from five to four with each block benefiting from direct access to the highway.

They said the scale parameters of the blocks have not been increased and the number of units remains unchanged but the floor plan showed that the proposed flats would have an “acceptable layout”.

They said the proposed development would result in a density of 25 residential units per hectare, which is below the 35 dwellings per hectare threshold set out in policy for new developments within the southern strategy area.

They said this lower density is justified by the intention to retain the most valuable elements of the wooded boundary and by the presence of the SSSI (site of special scientific interest) immediately beyond the northern boundary of the application site.

So they said the lower density would “also provide confidence that this proposal does not constitute overdevelopment”.

They added that, as the application is submitted in outline with all matters reserved, the council retains the ability to reject any future scheme that would adversely impact the character and appearance of the site.

But they said considerations relating to overdevelopment are ultimately
a matter of judgement and encompass not only physical dimensions but also density, siting, and the perceived scale of the development.

“Therefore it is appreciated that members may consider that the indicative layout plan fails to demonstrate that the site can accommodate the proposed 30 units with a satisfactory layout, access, and parking provision and come to the conclusion that the proposal constitutes overdevelopment of the site.”