Wrthi'n llwytho
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1.1 Apologies were received from Councillor Jon James.
2.1 The following interests were declared: · Councillor Stuart Ashley declared a personal interest in agenda items 6 and 7 as a Member of Cwmbran Community Council who had been consulted on the applications. He also declared a further in items 6 and 7 as a Member of Torfaen Friends of the Earth. · Councillor Steven Evans declared a personal interest in agenda item 6 as the ward member. · Councillor Karl Gauden declared a personal interest in agenda item 8 as the ward member. · Councillor Jon Horlor declared a personal interest in agenda items 4 and 6 as a Member of Pontypool Community Council who had been consulted on the applications. · Councillor Gaynor James declared a personal interest in agenda items 4 and 6 as a Member of Pontypool Community Council who had been consulted on the applications.
3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 16th April 2025 were confirmed as a true and accurate record.
4.1 The Senior Planner presented the report to Members in detail and displayed photographs and plans of the site. 4.2 A question was asked as to whether the current vegetation adjacent to the outbuilding could be used as a living boundary screen as oppose to installing an physical structure to act a privacy screen. The Group Leader, Development Management confirmed that the landscaping was not in the Applicant’s control and could be removed at any time which was why it was proposed in install a privacy screen. 4.3 Members unanimously agreed to approve the application subject the conditions laid out in the report.
5.1 The Senior Planner presented the report to Members in detail and displayed photographs and plans of the site. 5.2 Members unanimously agreed to approve the non-material amendment application.
6.1 The Principal Planner presented the report to Members in detail and displayed photographs and plans of the site. 6.2 Members asked a number of questions, and the following responses were given by the Principal Planner: · The model for the windfarm had been based on recognised methodology and the noise level of the windfarm was deemed acceptable. As part of the local impact report, it was proposed to recommend that conditions be included in any permission granted in relation to noise. If any complaints were received, an independent consultant would be employed to carry out readings and if the noise was above the modelled level, the Applicant would have to provide mitigation, and the wind turbines would need to be switched off until the issue was rectified. · There could be changes to the location as a wind farms were subject to micro siting which enabled the location of the turbines to move 50m in any direction to optimise energy production. · Welsh Government had designated the area a suitable location for a wind farm. · Although residents in the area would deem the location an area of natural beauty, the site was not deemed by a law an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. • An assessment had been carried out in relation to surface water run-off and flooding and mitigation which was considered reasonable to allow the LPA to consider that SAB requirements could be achieved. The implementation and technical details would need to be proposed, and agreed with the SAB body. · An assessment of the visual aspect of the wind farm had been carried out from a number of different vantage points throughout Torfaen and the neighbouring Boroughs and the turbines would have a visual impact and would change the skyline, however Welsh Government have stated that the skyline was acceptable to change. · The proposed turbines were smaller than other turbines, however the shorter the turbines the more needed to generate the energy output required. · The Council’s Ecologist was satisfied with the Ecological Assessment carried out which also took into consideration the impact on Raptors. · Officers agreed to note in the local impact report; the close proximity of the wind farm to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Blaenavon. CADW would have been consulted on the application and would have had opportunity to provide their comments on the plans. The Council’s Heritage Officer was satisfied with the proposal. • The suggestion by members of a high kill rate for raptors was not too dissimilar to the submitted report, this would be monitored, and a condition would be attached to any permission requiring appropriate mitigation to avoid this. · Based upon the available evidence it was considered that the development would have a negative impact on the landscape and visual amenity of the Torfaen Area, and it would also have a negative impact on residential amenities in certain locations in the borough. 6.3 Members agreed to note the report.
7.1 The Principal Planner presented the report to Members in detail and displayed photographs and plans of the site. 7.2 Members asked a number of questions, and the following responses were given by the Principal Planner: · Officers had not yet received the Swept Path Analysis drawings which had been requested which would show the suitability of the route in relation to the construction vehicles that were proposed to use it. · Officers have requested additional information about the whole proposed route, as the width of the road was 3m and the lorries were 2.5m wide and 16m long, Officers want to be sure that the vehicles could safely manoeuvre without having to remove hedgerow or street furniture. 7.3 The ward members stated that he had grave concerns with the proposal. 7.4 Members agreed to note the report.
8.1 The Planning Consultant reminded Members that the application was presented to Planning Committee in March where it was deferred pending a site visit. The site visit took place on Monday, and many members attended, and the notes of the visit were appended to the report. The Planning Consultant added that since the publication of the report, a letter of support had been received from the adjoining neighbour at The Manse. 8.2 The Chair informed Members that there were third party speakers who wished to speak in relation to the application and invited the first speaker Mr Alan Tinsley to address the committee. 8.3 Mr Alan Tinsley, objector, raised the following points: · He thanked Members for giving him the time to address Planning Committee. · He lived in Lamb Lane and had done so for 30 years, and it was a lane that could be difficult to negotiate with the number of vehicles on it. Just recently a lorry could not get to a house on the lane for a delivery and had to park near the junction and use a stack truck to make its delivery. But more relevant was that if it had been raining heavy for a couple of days, they would have needed a boat to make the delivery. · A few months ago, the amount of water coming off the fields on to the Lamb Lane was so intense that the only safe way to drive down the road was to drive down the centre as it was so deep on the sides. The water was coming up out of the drains and lifting the drain covers, the drainage system could not cope. The problem was that the water table came to the surface in and around Lamb Lane. · He has had on numerous occasions, three inches of water in his back garden which came up straight out of the ground. · His next-door neighbour had a natural fountain in her garden which was about 18 inches high. During another period of heavy rain, six of the residents spent hours brushing the flood water away to prevent it from entering their properties. During another down pour a neighbour on the opposite side of the road had water coming up through their living room and they had to have the floor re-laid. The cottage on the end of the lane also suffered badly with water coming up from the ground. · The drain through Lamb Lane was a common drain so anything that came up out of it was not just rainwater and could potentially be a serious health hazard. · There were a number of small children that lived on the lane who were walked to the nearby village school, they had to negotiate the flood water, and the raised drain covers and water being splashed on to them by passing vehicles carrying this potential hazard, how would you feel if this was your children or grandchildren having to go through this. · The development that was proposed would only increase the amount of water entering the drainage system. · They lived on the edge of a water table that could not be managed as it could not been seen. · If members of the Planning Committee decided to grant planning permission to the development and caused serious problems for families in Lamb Lane because of increased flooding who was going to pay for repairs and the heartache it would cause. The insurance company may pay out for repairs the first time, then the premiums would rise or worse still residents may not be able to get insurance because the risk was too high. The residents would not be able to sell their homes as the buyers would not be able to get a mortgage because they could not get insurance. · The saga had been going on for over 10 years now and needed to be put to bed once and for all. · He asked that in their deliberations, that Members consider what he outlined and reject the application. 8.4 Mr Tim Smale, Applicant, addressed the Committee and made the following comments: · He thanked Members for providing him with the opportunity to speak at Planning Committee. · The proposal was four dwellings, highway improvements, protection of trees with Tree Preservation Orders, a sustainable urban drainage scheme which would slow and reduce water run-off from the site and would be subject to technical scrutiny through the SAB application. · The officers report confirmed that the scheme was in compliance with the LDP policy, was an infill development within the settlement boundary, was in a sustainable location, provided biodiversity net gain, the character of the proposed properties were within context of the area, the separation distances complied with policy protecting the amenity of the neighbouring dwellings and the application was supported by the immediate neighbour. · The highway improvements included improving the forward visibility on the bend at the end of Lamb Lane, widening the end of the lane, extending the footpath on the north side of the lane to access the site, providing a usable turning head at the end of the lane, traffic generated by the site would be very low and speeds on Lamb Lane were already low due to road side parking and the statutory speed limit, ample parking would be provided on the site and the construction management plan would be submitted prior to construction. · The technical aspect of the sustainable surface water drainage scheme was a matter for approval under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and that was conditioned in the application. · He sympathised with his neighbours, but he could not do anything about run off from the fields to the north or the water table but positive drainage for the site would reduce the current run off from his site into the lane and slow the discharge rate to an agreed rate with Welsh Water. The drainage system would be approved by the SUDS approval body and it would be controlled by condition before construction could take place. · He reiterated a few comments made by the consultees and Local Authority Officers. The Local Authority Drainage Officer stated that they were happy with the amended calculations, and they had added drainage conditions to control SAB approval. The Local Authority Ecologist stated that the proposal all seemed fine. The Local Authority Planning Officer stated that subject to other policy considerations the proposed dwellings could contribute positively to the aims and objectives of sustainable place making in line with the adopted national and local policy. The Local Highways Officer commented that they were happy with the current proposal. The Local Authority Tree Officer offered no objections. Planning Officers commented on the design and visual impact and stated that the proposed houses respected the existing character and context of the area. Welsh Water confirmed that the development would require approval of a sustainable drainage systems in accordance with the statutory standards and conditions have been agreed. 8.5 The ward member was grateful to committee members for attending the site visit which he felt was useful in order to contextualise the scheme. 8.6 In response to comments made about the drainage situation, the Planning Consultant commented that the application would not be able to address the existing drainage problems on Lamb Lane, however the Local Highways Authority, Local Drainage Authority and Welsh Water were happy in principal with the scheme subject to conditions. 8.7 Members unanimously agreed that upon completion of an Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act concerning the matters referred to in the report, the Group Leader (Development Management) be authorised to grant permission subject to the conditions laid out in the report or any amendments additions or deletions of the conditions he may deem necessary.
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