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There is no summary of this meeting yet. Summaries are written once the council publishes the minutes, which are its official record of what a meeting decided. They usually appear a few weeks after the meeting.
1.1 Apologies were received from Councillor Chris Tew.
2.1 The following interests were declared: • Councillor Stuart Ashley declared a personal interest in agenda item 4 as a Member of both Cwmbran Community Council and Torfaen Friends of the Earth who had been consulted on the application. • Councillor Janet Jones declared a personal interest in agenda item 5 as the Council’s World Heritage Champion and a Member of the World Heritage Steering Committee.
3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 15th January 2025 were confirmed as a true and accurate record.
4.1 The Principal Planner presented the report to Members in detail and displayed photographs and plans of the site. 4.2 Members asked a number of questions, and the following responses were given by Officers: · A planning application on this site had previously been refused by Planning Committee and one of the reasons members refused it was due to loss of open space. · If the application was to be approved the road within the site would be developed to an adoptable standard and would be wide enough for access for emergency vehicles. · The nearest bus stop to the site was at the bottom of Rosemead Road, however it was not the easiest to get to. · There were no active travel linkages to the site, and it was a car borne site. · There was a proposed pedestrian route which would be accessed through a public right of way; however this route would need to be lit up in order for it to be useable and installing streetlights at this location could have an impact on the ecology. · Officers within the Education Department had confirmed that there was capacity in the schools in the vicinity to accommodate children from the development. It would be a matter for the Health Board to consider as to whether the doctors’ surgeries in the area could accommodate the additional residents which would stem from the development. 4.3 Members commented: · There was a need for more housing, however the Council had also declared a climate change emergency and needed to be mindful of that when considering Planning Applications in areas of open space. · One of the reasons Planning Committee refused the application last time was due to ecological issues and also because it was an isolated site which was not very accessible for non-car users. · They had concerns at the close proximity of the site to the listed building and the impact it could have on that. · The application was contrary to current planning policy and was a car dependent site. · The Applicant had not provided evidence on a Sustainable Urban drainage system. · The Applicant had previously submitted an application for the site and was refused permission by Planning Committee, they had made minor amendments and were submitting again for a different answer, however Members still had the same concerns. 4.4 Members agreed with 9 voting in favour and 1 abstaining from voting to oppose the application through the appeal process on the following grounds: · The construction of 25 residential units on the greenfield site in a semi-rural location, with a lack of local facilities and lack of feasible active travel opportunities, did not represent high quality placemaking or sustainable development. The proposal therefore fails to meet the Placemaking and Sustainable Places aims and objectives of Future Wales (2021) (Policy 2), Planning Policy Wales 12 (2024) and Polices S2 and S4 of the Torfaen County Borough Council Local Development Plan (to 2021). · It was considered that the proposed scale of development and design approach was incompatible with the site conditions and local character. The loss of a visually important greenfield site combined with the layout and extensive engineering works would result in a visually and physically incongruous development which significantly harms the character and appearance of the area. The proposal therefore represents inappropriate and unacceptable development at this semi-rural edge of settlement location contrary to Planning Policy Wales 12 (2024), Technical Advice Note 12: Design (2016) and Policies BW1, S4 and S7 of the Torfaen County Borough Council Local Development Plan (to 2021). · The construction of 25 residential units at the location within proximity of Grade II listed Tyr Y Wen Barn and Tyr Y Wen Farmhouse would irreversibly eradicate the rural setting of the listed farm buildings both in terms of visual impact and also in terms of ambience, urban noise and disturbance. The proposed buffer zone of public open space identified on submitted plan reference 180509/AR/PL/121 P04 (Site Plan as Proposed) would not be sufficient to address this level of detrimental impact. As such, it was considered that the proposal does not meet the legislative requirements of Section 314 A (1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Planning Policy Wales 12 (2024) and Technical Advice Note 24: the Historic Environment (2017). It was therefore contrary to Policies S4, S7 and BW1 of the Torfaen County Borough Council Local Development Plan (to 2021). · The application fails to demonstrate that a suitable Sustainable Drainage Scheme could be achieved at the site. On this basis, the proposal does not meet the requirements Planning Policy Wales 12 (2024), Technical Advice Note 15: development, flooding and coastal erosion (2021) and Policies S3, S7 and BW1 of the Torfaen County Borough Council Local Development Plan (to 2021) which seek to safeguard surface water management and drainage interests.
5.1 The Principal Planner presented the report to Members in detail and displayed photographs and plans of the site. 5.2 Members commented: · That they were not against renewable energy; however, it was not the right location, and it would have a huge impact on the unique 19th Century landscape. · There were only four World Heritage Site in Wales and Torfaen was lucky enough to have one in Blaenavon which was extremely special, and nothing should intrude on it, and they felt that the turbines would have monstrous effect on the World Heritage Site. · The criteria for installing wind turbines stated that they should not be installed in areas of Natural Beauty and the World Heritage Site was an area of Natural beauty. · Commoners would lost part of their land to accommodate the turbines which would also affect their livelihoods. · The vehicles needed to deliver and construct the turbines who have a major effect on the road structure. · The wind turbines would be 650ft in heigh and would be visible to visitors coming into the area and also from the Brecon Beacons National Park. · When the wind turbines came to the end of their lifespan, the blades had to be buried in the ground and infilled with reinforced concrete which would remain a blight on the landscape. 5.3 In response to questions and comments made by Members, Officers gave the following responses: · It was recognised in National Policy that 70% of energy should come from renewable sources and this was reflected in the pre-assessed areas defined by Welsh Government, however the proposed site for the wind turbines was not located within a pre-assessed area. · The need for wind turbines and renewable energy was recognised, however they had to be in right location and supported by National Policy. · Officers supported Members concerns which would be included in the submission to PEDW. National Policy stated that wind turbines should not affect areas of Natural Beauty or Historical aspects. Officers had significant concerns with the proposal which would be relayed in Local Impact Report submitted to PEDW. 5.4 Members agreed to note the report.
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