Scheme aims to provide housing on repurposed social club land

Bruce Sinclair, local democracy reporter

A scheme to build four houses on part of a small village’s social club car park has been submitted to county planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, William Crockford of Coastal Developments Limited seeks permission to develop part of the ROAB social club car park, Station Road, Kilgetty for four semi-detached homes.

History

Back in 2023, a larger scheme by the applicant for six three-bedroom houses on the site was withdrawn after being recommended for refusal at the July meeting of the planning committee on grounds including poor layout, an unacceptable landscaping scheme, and failing to provide a Unilateral Undertaking to secure required on-site and financial contributions towards local needs affordable housing.

A supporting statement through agent Gerald Blain Associates Limited for the latest proposal says: “The application seeks to provide an appropriate regeneration of a site that historically has heavily contrasted the neighbouring residential properties. The application seeks to refresh a previous consent granted for residential dwellings on the site which was never carried out. Thus, the rationale of the development is to provide much needed housing for a range of end users on a site which is currently not in keeping with the surrounding properties.

“Historically the site, a brownfield one, offering car parking for the village’s ROAB social club, in a mainly residential area, in the centre of the settlement. The vision is a simple one, and that is to provide a residential development to complement its neighbours, that are in a mixture of detached, semi-detached and short terraced properties of varying ages and styles.”

Considerations

It says the overspill car park for the adjacent club is no longer required for that purpose, and the “design of the proposal has been carefully considered to take the character of the area, the amenity of neighbours, sustainability, and reduction of crime fully into account,” adding: “Since the previous application the density has been reduced and careful consideration has been given to ensure that the proposed development does not overlook any existing residential units.”

The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (RAOB) is one of the largest fraternal movements in the UK, known as the ‘Buffs’ to members.