Last week we all found out about a proposal to build 32 new retirement apartments on land south of Rhos Road. Reaction was mixed. On the one hand 'No! Not more development!' and 'Great, retirement homes, just what the village needs!'.
As a community we must stand strongly against ANY new development right now. We have experienced an unprecedented growth with around 1,000 new residents joining the village in past 5 years. The impact has been felt by many residents (including these new villagers) in lots of different ways - we have written a full account for planners which you can read here.
There is a correct process for the selection of land for development - the Flintshire Unitary Development Plan defines the boundary of the village and no development is usually allowed outside that boundary. It is shown in black on this map:
The new Flintshire plan, the Local Development Plan (LDP) is half way through its process - it is expected to be completed in 2019. The sites shown in red on this map are 'Candidate Sites' proposed by landowners or developers (we don't know in most cases). Flintshire C.C. have to decide which, if any, of these sites should be included in the new settlement boundary.
But because the LDP is late, developers are able to try and get their proposals through the planning system early and outside of the plan - that has already happened on Rhos Road north, where permission has been granted for 40 houses - outside the boundary. The Redrow application for 190 houses is in process - outside the boundary. And now there is the newest proposal for 32 apartments on Rhos Road South. As you can see on the map, there are a lot more that could be brought forward.
We must stand strongly against any development that is proposed outside of the correct planning process - no matter whether we like the development or who is bringing it forward - there is no urgent need for this village to have any more development before 2019 - therefore there is no reason not to wait for the LDP to put in place and the correct process followed (as part of the LDP process, the community will be consulted on potential sites for development).
In the meantime, we are writing our own Community Development Plan to define what the community want - the recent village Questionnaire provides strong opinions about what is important to villagers - including development:
The Community Development Plan won't be ready for a couple of months, in the meantime, please write to the developers of this latest proposal and let them know that we want it to be considered and consulted under the LDP process.
Real Planning
Dunmore
Church Street
Penycae
Wrexham
LL14 2RL
Email: info@realplanning.co.uk
We have 3 of our Community Councillors in our Steering Group (Cindy Hinds, David Williams and Jeff Priddin) - but you should let them know how you feel too:
Cllr Cindy Hinds
Phone: 01978 761354
Email: cindy.r.dennis@gmail.com
Cllr David Williams is our other County
Phone: 01978762486
Email: dwillderw@yahoo.co.uk
If you have any questions, please get in touch with the Community Development Group:
Email: team@penyfforddcommunity.org