Plans revived for affordable housing development on farmland

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans for a 145-home affordable housing development have been revived on farmland where earlier proposals were rejected by planners.

St Asaph-based Castle Green Homes has applied to Denbighshire County Council for permission to build the estate at Mindale Farm, Ffordd Hendre, near Prestatyn, including the demolition of existing farm buildings.

The application is the latest of several involving the land in recent years. Earlier plans by other developers were rejected in 2017 and 2022.

The latest plans for the 11.54-acre site promise a “mix of accommodation” providing one, two, three, and four-bedroom dwellings, together with landscaping, public open space, and infrastructure works.

A planning statement says most of the land is grassland but adds “some individual tree areas of scrub and sections of hedgerow will be lost to accommodate the new development”.

In 2022 residents won a long-running fight to stop a large-scale housing development they say would have “swamped” their village when the planning inspector rejected two appeals by Penrhyn Homes to build 133 homes.

The plans were rejected due to concerns about a planned access road, congestion, and drainage, with similar fears leading to an earlier application in 2017 also being rejected.

The site covers around 11.54 acres and is bordered by open countryside to the north and west, vacant land to the east, and existing housing to the south.

Developers say around 8.67 acres of the site would be used for the construction of the affordable homes, with the remaining land accommodating a new access road from the A547 Ffordd Talargoch, public open space, sustainable drainage features, and retained landscaping.

Local development plan

The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Joint Committee said that it accepted the development, as the land was included in the council’s local development plan (LDP).

“It has to be accepted that the principle of development on this site has already been established by the site’s allocation for housing within the LDP,” a statement read.

“Whilst there are views into the site from the AONB, many are long-distance views, and the impact will be a change in character, rather than a harmful one, both in terms of outward views and the setting of the designated area.”

The letter added: “It will effectively be seen in context of the developed residential fringes of Meliden and Prestatyn, and consequently the Joint Committee raise(s) no objections.”

The plans will likely be discussed at a future Denbighshire County Council planning committee meeting at the authority’s Ruthin County Hall HQ.