PLANS for 41 houses on land near a Cynon Valley industrial estate have officially been lodged with the council.
Meadow Lane (Hirwaun) Ltd has submitted an application for a 41 house affordable housing development on land adjacent to Bryngelli Industrial Estate in Hirwaun.
It’s a revised scheme to that of a 35 unit mixed tenure scheme which the council’s planning committee approved of in April 2023 subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement.
The design and access statement submitted with the application said that this decision established that the principle of residential development at the site in question was acceptable on all grounds, including in relation to highway, ecological, ground condition, noise, air quality, residential amenity, visual impact, drainage and employment land related matters.
Since the decision in April 2023, there have been discussions involving the housing association Newydd and it has been identified that such is the level of need for affordable housing in the immediate and wider area, that a revised scheme has now been prepared for 41 units, all of which are described as being affordable housing.
The design and access statement said: “This has been approved internally by the housing association in question and through discussions with the Welsh Government, resulting in the requirement for the preparation and submission of this revised planning application.”
It said that the site relates predominantly to a parcel of previously developed land and elements of existing public highway, with the site in total measuring just under 1.3 hectares.
The statement said that historically the site has been used for employment purposes including a former bakery but all structures associated with this former use have long since been demolished.
The proposed access road and general arrangement of the scheme remains the same as that of the previously proposed scheme.
Most of the proposed homes (28 units) will gain access off a new estate road running through the site and a smaller number of units in the northern part of the site will then gain access off Meadow Lane.
The design and access statement said that the level of off-street parking to serve the proposed units (a minimum of one designated car parking space per dwelling) has given full consideration to current planning guidance “whilst also recognising the general level of car ownership associated with affordable housing and national planning policy’s aspirations for promoting sustainable travel patterns.”
It also said that the scheme includes several features to help with the sustainable management of surface water as well as features to keep the site’s existing ecological assets and increase its overall biodiversity level.
In its conclusion, the design and access statement said: “The proposed development represents an opportunity to provide affordable
residential development on a previously developed and redundant piece of land in the settlement of Hirwaun.
“The scheme subject of this application represents a revision to that previously submitted and supported by the Authority. However, through discussions with a local housing association (Newydd), it has been identified that the demand for affordable housing in the local area is far greater than previously appreciated and it is now agreed by all parties, that the application site represents an opportunity to assist in meeting this demand.
“Whilst the proposed total number of units for the redevelopment of the site has increased, the principles of design previously supported by the authority have continued to steer and influence the proposal subject of this current application.
“As a result, the proposal continues to represent a sympathetic and sustainable development, at a location that will not result in any detrimental impact in terms of residential amenity, visual impact, design, drainage or ecological considerations.
“Furthermore, the previously agreed and supported highway improvements continue to form part of the current scheme, ensuring that the proposal will have no detrimental impact on any users of the exiting local highway network.”
