PLANS for a major housing development north of Swansea have been pulled by the developer, citing viability issues.
Enzo’s Homes wanted to build 100 three and four-bed homes, including 15 affordable ones, in Pontlliw, opposite the village’s primary school.
The Carmarthenshire-based construction company submitted detailed plans to Swansea Council in 2020 setting out how it would develop a five-hectare site between Carmel Road and Bryntirion Road. This followed pre-application advice from the planning department. Ecology, transport, tree and drainage reports were also submitted.
The proposal was for land allocated for residential development and included green spaces, a play area and 300 parking spaces.”The proposed development will lead to the creation of a high-quality residential site which will fit with the surrounding residential context of Pontlliw,” said a design and access statement submitted on behalf of Enzo’s Homes.
Objections to the scheme included two from Pontlliw and Tircoed Community Council. It claimed Pontlliw Primary School would be considerably oversubscribed if the houses, plus a further 67 also planned in the village, were built. It also felt traffic impact had been under-estimated, and cited a letter from Natural Resources Wales in which the environment body said it continued to have “significant concerns” with the development.
Swansea Council’s planning department said in a report in September, 2020, that the development was acceptable in principal but that the scheme would need some amendments. It said Enzo’s Homes would also have to provide a financial contribution to the education department.
Enzo’s Homes submitted a green infrastructure assessment in 2021, which said most of the trees on-site would be retained and that new planting would be extensive. New wetland and meadows, it added, would be created.
Enzo’s Homes’s started drawing up its proposals for the Carmel Road site before the Covid pandemic, when the cost of materials and then labour soared. House prices have also risen. Asked why it had decided to withdraw from the 100-home project, the company said: “Viability in the current market.”
