460 new homes look set to be approved for Cefn yr Hendy, Rhondda

By Anthony Lewis

Plans for 460 homes in the south of Rhondda Cynon Taf look set to be given final approval.

An application to deal with the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the plan from Taylor Wimpey for land west of the A4119 at Cefn yr Hendy is due to go before the council’s planning committee on Thursday, March 9.

The application, which includes a “local centre”, went before the planning committee in January with a recommendation that permission is granted.

At the meeting, councillors expressed concerns regarding the relationship of the development (specifically plots 1-4) to the rear of existing properties in Bryn Dewi Sant.

The committee decided to defer it for further consideration to give the applicant the opportunity to revise the scheme in order to address these concerns.

A revised site layout was then submitted on February 7 which removes plots 1-4 as originally proposed, to the rear of Bryn Dewi Sant.

The total number of homes proposed will remain at 460 with four homes to be relocated.

A further consultation was done with those existing neighbours who could be
impacted by the changes and no objections have been received in response to
this.

As a result of the alterations made to the layout there is an increase in the amount of residential floor space to be built of 26.72 square metres and this leads to the total CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) liability for the development increasing to £6,121,288.05

Planning officers are recommending that committee approves the reserved matters application including the discharging of conditions and amendment to some conditions.

The planning report said that it is considered that the revised proposals do respond positively to the concerns that were raised by members and the local resident who spoke at the January meeting and the view of officers is that the proposed revisions represent an improvement over the original scheme presented.

The January planning report said the principle of the proposed development has been established under the original grant of outline planning permission and its renewal.

There were 49 responses to the original consultation commenting and objecting to the proposals and following changes to the proposals a further
round of public consultation was done which saw a further 16 objections.

Their concerns related to planning policy issues, highways and transport issues, amenity issues such as the impact on current residents, health issues such as air quality and the loss of open space, design related issues, infrastructure issues and ecology issues.

The Section 106 requirements include provision of 20% affordable housing, the provision of a local centre, the agreement of a long term management plan for the management of open space to the north of the site and the ecologically sensitive areas of the site, provision of green space and play areas for management and maintenance in accordance with the council’s supplementary planning guidance, the agreement of an employment skills training plan and a financial contribution of £90,000 towards the provision of additional park and ride facilities at Pontyclun railway station.