PLANS to build 28 houses on part of the former Whitland Creamery site were passed by Carmarthenshire County Council’s Planning Committee on Tuesday (Aug 30), contrary to officer recommendations.
Introducing the plans, Helen Rice said that while the site had been originally earmarked for employment and mixed use, comments from the Welsh Government and concerns about flooding had meant that the site was designated for proposed and existing employment uses under the Local Development Plan.
Ms Rice added that while the applicants had tried to comply with criteria for changing the use categorisation, it was the view of the council that once employment land was lost, particularly in a central location like this site, it was very difficult to replace.
She also pointed out that of the three sites designated as employment sites in the LDP in Whitland, the other two were currently being developed, meaning that this was the last available land for new employment opportunities in the area, and that any housing development could run the risk of ‘sterilising’ other land to the south marked for employment.
“At this time, it is not thought that the benefits outweigh the loss of employment land created 18 months previously,” Ms Rice added.
However, local County Councillor, Sue Allen, pointed out that no work, other than partial demolition, had been carried out on the site for almost a quarter of a century.
“Whitland needs to move forward without this ghost of the dairy site haunting the character of the town,” she added.
Cllr Allen also claimed that the complete absence of response to the consultation from the local community was caused by ‘the futility felt by residents about giving a view’, and quoted Chief Executive Mark James, who 15 years ago said: “We need a clear vision for the future of the town to provide it with a long term sustainable future and cannot overstress the importance of local residents having their say on the future of the site.’’
She added that the focus on employment use for the site had ‘failed and failed’, and claimed that some of the sites included in the residential allocation for Whitland were ‘still sitting within the development plans after half a century or more’.
“I assume they were possibly included at the time the dairy site expanded in the fifties as a replacement for the demolition of town centre housing. These sites are a mile or more from the town centre and very windy!” she added.
Cllr Anthony Jones asked whether nearby industrial units were fully occupied, following Cllr Allen’s claim that they ‘couldn’t even give units away’.
He was told that occupancy ‘fluctuated’, but the units had a history of being in use.
Cllr Kevin Madge agreed it was ‘astonishing’ that 10 years after the creation of the Masterplan, nothing had happened.
However, he pointed out that granting permission for residential and business properties next to each other could lead to noise and dust pollution for residents in the future. “What we decide today could have implications down the line,” he added.
“If we grant this, it could make people unwilling to invest in the future.”
Cllr Ken Howell proposed that the committee followed the officer recommendation for refusal, pointing out that it was the last site allocated for employment in the town which had not been developed.
However, Cllr Jones claimed that any developer looking to develop the site would have to put some houses there to pay for work to the rest of the site.
Chair of the Planning Committee, Cllr Alun Lenny, remarked that no one had justified a need for housing on that site, and this was supported by Planning Officer Julian Edwards, who said that ‘sufficient’ allocation of housing had been made in the town.
The committee voted to go against the officer recommendation and approve planning by eight votes to six, meaning that permission was granted subject to a report regarding affordable housing.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Allen said: “I am greatly relieved that this singular option was supported by the committee on a very small part of the site that was once an award-winning garden. It may trigger other service businesses to start up on the site and residents will easily reach town centre local shops and amenities. It will be sustaining our existing businesses.”
She added that ‘all sorts of options’ had been explored for the site, including a Doctors Surgery and new Primary School, but that this application was ‘the first concrete step’.
“Industrial has simply not delivered. SME’s are important to rural wards and creating the climate for them to flourish should be at the forefront of government strategy,” she added.
“As with many SME businesses, they prefer to expand on their existing location, building on the security of their success. As above, the dairies did exactly this.
“In Whitland, we have so many businesses expanding on the outskirts of the town. Magstim for example has just built an extension and temporarily used a unit at the dairy site whilst this was completed,” she added, also referencing Whitland Engineering as a firm currently expanding.
“This expansion has happened after the LDP consequently accepted my request for the site visit. Obviously the length of time this whole site has been without a sustainable future is still a massive issue.”
However, Cllr Lenny told The Herald that this ‘blatant deviation’ from the Local Development Plan was not justified:
“During the Planning Committee visit to the site of Whitland Creamery on Tuesday, I remembered doing a live broadcast for S4C news from the very same spot on a dark October evening in 1994, reporting on the bombshell that the factory was closing with the loss of almost 200 jobs,” he said.
“For another ten years or so, the factory buildings stood as a reminder of past prosperity. After the buildings were demolished, there’s been a vast empty space in the heart of Whitland. So I can well understand local people’s frustration.
“But there was no justification, in my view, for such a blatant deviation from the Local Development Plan for Whitland, which designates this land for economic development. Whitland stands at the centre of a large rural hinterland and may need land for commercial development, related possibly to agriculture, in future.
“There are other sites in the town allocated by the LDP for housing. I asked those who voted in favour of going against officer’s recommendation and allow house building on employment land if they had any evidence of increased demand for housing in Whitland. There was no reply.
“The site where the milk factory actually stood, across the River Gronw from the area considered by the Planning Committee on Tuesday, is now a barren piece of concreted land. The Welsh Government, in its wisdom or otherwise, refused to include that large site close to the centre of Whitland in the LDP, on the grounds of flood risk.
“Yet it stands on the same level as St Mary’s Street, the police station, Canolfan Hywel Dda and most of the rest of the town centre. I believe that when the LDP comes up for review, the old Whitland creamery site, which has no development status at present, must be looked at once again.”
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