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Monday 5th June - 7:00pm Penyffordd Legion
Plan highlights
Come along to the Legion to hear the highlights of the Local Plan - it sets out what the community wants to happen to the village in the next 15 years - this affects everyone who lives and works in the village.
- new school
- road network
- community buildings
- housing
- cement factory growth
Please come along and find out what it is all about.
Thank you
Half term parents and families workshop (FREE TEA AND CAKE)
The Institute, Friday 2nd June 10-12am.
Artists impression of a new Primary school in Wrexham - could be similar to what we can expect on Abbots Lane?
The Community Plan is taking shape thanks to your responses to the questionnaire, but we need MORE input from parents of children that go to, or plan to go to school in the village. School places are now limited, we are being told that some village children are not being offered a place at Abbots Lane this intake!!!
In addition a new school is being built in the village and you've told us through the questionnaire of your concerns issues and more, and we all feel the pain of parking! Let's get your issues into the plan and we can do something about it.
We are also really keen to hear about issues St Johns parents have!!
There's lots of issues that the Community Plan will help to address now and in years to come, but we need the parents of school children in the village to have their say on the big things that are affecting them now, and also to understand your concerns for the future.
Please share this with every parent you know and please pop along for 10 minutes and let us know your thoughts on all things in the village that affect you and your family. We have created this in half term to reach as many people as possible and we'd love to meet you all and your children and to share with you the proposed Community Plan that will ensure FCC are understand the specific needs of our lovely village.
I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible, there will also be FREE tea and cake.
Clare
As we expected, Redrow have appealed the planning committee decision to refuse their application.
It has been reported in the Evening Leader.
The appeal is handled by the independent Planning Inspectorate, who wrote to us recently to remind us that they can only consider the evidence put before them. Our role, as a community, is to provide them with that evidence.
Redrow chose not to attend the planning committee, we will ensure that the village is fully represented in this appeal process.
Once we have details of the appeal timeline, we will post updates. In the meantime, if you have evidence of how you are being affected in the village - particularly with drains, water, internet, traffic, bus services, doctors etc. - please get in touch.
Thank you.
The plans suggest a significant investment in a new mill, contained within a new building, and the removal of 3 of the 4 existing mills. An increase in production activity overall, a reduction in road traffic and an increase in rail traffic.
Hanson is holding public exhibitions to explain their expansion plans to local residents on Tuesday May 23 at Buckley Library and on Wednesday May 24 at Penyffordd British Legion Club, both 3.30pm to 7pm.
If it goes ahead it will be almost impossible to stop them developing the land linking the proposed site to the Groves development.
WE NEED HELP PLEASE!
DEADLINE FRIDAY 21st APRIL
We need as many people as possible to object to the next planning application for 32 houses on Hawarden Road - close to the Spar.
There is a real threat that this one will go through - when added to the 40 houses already approved on Rhos Road, that will be the same as adding another White Lion sized development to the village. It will also mean that the remaining fields of Wood Lane farm will be surrounded on 3 sides by houses and the 4th by the bypass - that land can hold 100 more houses!
There is a good chance that Flintshire Planners will support this one unless we can persuade them otherwise.!
Objecting is easy - all we need you to do is say that you object because (any one of more of these will do)...
- no more houses in Penyffordd,
- doctors appointments,
- traffic problems,
- only one shop
- outside the settlement boundary
- no school places etc.
You can do it online, it only takes a minute http://www.flintshire.gov.uk/dominoimgs/webcont/fssplaps.nsf/frmComments?OpenForm&ref=056694
or you can email
planningdc@flintshire.gov.uk quoting Ref 056694 Hawarden Road, Penyffordd.
The more people that do it, the more chance there is that we can persuade them to stop building here for now. Thank you!
We have prepared a huge document full of objections and evidence if you want to read it >>>
The Flintshire planning committee have voted, unanimously, to refuse the Redrow Chester Road application. That follows the recommendation of the planning officer who submitted a report recommending refusal. This decision is a huge achievement made possible by the overwhelming response from the community with an unprecedented number of objections to both the planning department and to the planning committee members - a number of whom commented on the professionalism and size of the campaign.
The application was motioned for refusal by Cllr Peers from Drury, who put forward these reasons:
- Outside the Settlement Boundary
- Incursion into open countryside
- Uncontrolled development
- Premature ahead of the LDP process
- Significant detrimental impact on the cohesiveness of the community
- Against the principle of sustainable development
- Risk of flooding
The 'bench' of professionals with the Chairman of the planning committee - there was a good representation from Pen-y-ffordd in attendance!
The committee members appeared to be very happy that they had such strong grounds to refuse, because of the volume of evidence they had of harm, provided by members of our community directly to them and through the data provided in the village questionnaire response. The effort of everyone has paid off!
What next?
Redrow have a right of appeal. If they do, the appeal would be heard by independent planning inspectors, and because there are over 150 houses, by the Welsh Minister. who would look at all of the evidence and wider context and review the policies, in the same way the Flintshire Planning Officer has done. For their appeal to be successful, they will have to demonstrate why policy dictates that the committee and Flintshire County Council have got the decision wrong.
The Village Plan
More than ever, it is vital that we continue with our Community Development Plan - the Government Minister, Lesley Griffith AM/AC has written to us to encourage us to complete the plan. This is our ultimate defence, because it will define the needs of the community between now and 2030. We need as many people as possible to vote on the plan when it is ready in the next few weeks - look out for announcements!
Hawarden Road
Meanwhile, we have an another application to defend for 32 houses on Hawarden Road. We have until 21st April to send objections via the planning website.
So this is a question that comes up now and again.
This is why there has been a lot of opposition to the Redrow Chester Road application...
1. The Village Infrastructure can't cope
Depending on where you live in the village, you will suffer from low water pressure, overflowing drains, slow internet, traffic congestion, Spar car parking and other problems. The pipework in Penymynydd was designed for a couple of dozen houses, not hundreds. The infrastructure hasn't kept up. Investment is needed.
2. Community Spirit is at risk
This is difficult to define, but lots of people who have lived in the village for a long time believe that the community spirit is disappearing. This village is an amazing example of what everyone would look for in a community. It is safe (relatively), quiet, close to everything you could wish for, you can ask for help from neighbours, there are clubs, societies and well attended public events. The pubs and shops are thriving.
The village is alive and healthy - mostly. But it is wilting under the strain of recent development. As welcome as new residents are to the community, it is difficult for them to integrate into the community when they can't get their children into the village schools and the new developments are bolted on in one quick development - over 350 houses and 1,000 people in 5 years or less. The new school is planned for 2019 and will increase the number of places to hopefully accommodate all the children in the village TODAY - it will not significantly increase capacity beyond that.
Illustration of how the village has grown in past developments - we all live in somewhere new at sometime!
3. But we need houses!
It is true that there is a need for some new housing for people to move within the village - for the young to get their first home and for others to downsize or upsize. Planning permission has already been granted for 40 more houses on Rhos Road and also 5 houses on Melrose Close. The council are planning new affordable homes in Dobshill and a small number in Penyffordd and the new school will release some land on Penymynydd road.
Flintshire has a wait list for affordable homes, but the forecast population growth is only 3% - Penyffordd has grown 29% in less than 10 years. The Redrow proposal is nothing to do with housing need, this isn't London.
4. The Principle - it is wrong
The biggest one - the principle of development. It is only possible for this application to even be considered because of a loophole. Welsh planning policy is based on a 'local plan'. The local plan defines how many houses are needed over 15 years and how they should be distributed across all the settlements in Flintshire. At the moment there is no plan, so developers can pick any land and try and get permission to build. They choose the prime sites (like the one in Higher Kinnerton and Chester Road) and use the lack of a plan as a reason to build. It's a loophole and it's wrong. This is the countryside, filled with wildlife and has previously dismissed as potential housing site three times before.
We have lobbied very hard on this point and got support from Carl Sargeant AM, Mark Tami MP and from the Flintshire planning department. Most recently the Welsh Minister has written to all planning officers and to developers to try and reduce the number of these speculative applications.
5. The Village Provided the Proof
The questionnaire we sent out before Christmas generated a huge response - nearly 800 replies - and 80% of them asked for no more growth. There was lots of evidence there about the harm being suffered across the village and Flintshire are listening - thank you to everyone who took the time to fill it in - it has helped a huge amount.
So that's it - right now, we are finishing our own Community Plan which will set out where development might be possible in the coming years - we are not NIMBY's and we need to be realistic - but we would like to wait for Flintshire to complete their plan before we accept any more development.
WHAT YOU CAN DO...
Please print the SAVE OUR VILLAGE poster and put it in your window for Monday. If you can, please come and show your support when the Planning Committee visit at 10:00am on Monday or go to County Hall for committee on Wednesday at 1:00pm.
Thank you.
These are the 4 stages to stop a planning application and where the Redrow application is up to:
1. Planning Officer
An application is assigned a case officer at Flintshire County Council. Their job is to assess all the planning matters affecting it and whether it is compliant with policy and 'sustainable'. Our job is to explain which policies we believe it does not comply with and why, and also what harm will be done to the community or infrastructure if the application goes ahead. When the planning officer has reviewed the case, including public comments and consultations with statutory bodies, then they make a recommendation to approve or refuse the application.
REDROW CASE - The planning officer has recommended REFUSAL
HAWARDEN ROAD CASE - The planning officer is expected to recommend approval
2. Planning Committee
The planning committee sit once a month and review applications. They receive all the paperwork and are trained in planning policy but they elected representatives and not planning professionals. They must take advice from the planning officer and the legal officer on each case. They listen to the planning officer's recommendation and then vote on whether they agree with it. Our job is to lobby each of the committee members to persuade them that, irrespective of what the planning officer recommends, the application should be refused. Sometime the committee will go against the officer, but not often.
REDROW CASE - The planning committee are coming to Chester Road on Monday 10th April10:00am and they will vote on Wednesday 12th April 1:00pm at County Hall - you can attend both of these. It is not guaranteed that they will follow the officers' recommendation.
3. Appeal
If an application is refused, the applicant can appeal the decision. In Wales that means it goes to Welsh Government where an independent inspector is assigned the case. The inspector is a planning professional and they will review all the case notes, national and local policies, including public comments and the views of the statutory bodies. The will then decide whether to uphold the decision of the committee or override them and approve the application (this happened recently in Higher Kinnerton). Sometimes they will approve with some conditions attached. Where there are more than 150 houses in the development, the case automatically goes before the Welsh Minister for consideration. Inspectors should reach the same conclusion as the original case officer but that is not guaranteed.
REDROW - We have been lobbying the Welsh Minister, our Assembly Member and met with planning officers from Cardiff to state our case.
4. Local Development Plan
Assuming a planning application has been refused after an appeal, there is still a risk that the site could be brought forward with another application, as long as the detail has changed sufficiently.
REDROW - The land is a candidate site in the Local Development Plan and if it were adopted then the application could be resubmitted as it is.
So we are preparing a Community Development Plan which sets out how we want the village to grow in the next 13 years - we will be sharing the first draft in the coming weeks and we need the support of the whole village to make sure that any development we have is proportionate to the size of the village.
What's happening?
The Planning Committee are coming to Penyffordd on Monday at 10:00am to visit the site - we want as many people as possible to be there to welcome them.
Wednesday 12th April is Decision Day
The Committee meet at 1:00pm on Wednesday 12th April in the Council Chambers at County Hall, Mold. Please come along.
What happens at Committee?
The committee is made up of elected councillors. They have read all the comments and objections about the application in advance. They may visit the site in the next few days in a minibus. The Planning Officers will make a recommendation, based on their interpretation of planning policies and law, on whether to approve or refuse the application.
The applicant is allowed to speak. Our Councillors, Cindy Hinds and David Williams are allowed to speak for 5 minutes each and one public representative from the village is allowed to speak for 3 minutes.
The committee members are allowed to comment before they take a vote.
What can we do?
There is a public gallery and we would like to turn up in numbers to show the strength of feeling in the village. We need to offer lifts to people, get organised and get to County Hall - aim to be there by 12.30pm. Committee usually lasts a couple of hours in total but they stop to let the public leave once their case has been heard. We don't yet know the order of the agenda.
What happens after Committee?
If the committee approve the application, then that it over. Redrow can build the houses. The planning offers may make conditions which must be met first, but otherwise there is nothing more that can be done to stop it.
If the committee refuse the application, Redrow have a right of appeal. The appeal is held at Welsh Government and the minister oversees the appeal - because there are more than 150 houses on the site.
Parking Details for County Hall
You can park in the front car park overlooking Raikes Lane. To get there you need to drive down the road with the Law Courts on your left and the Council building on your right, you will come to a small roundabout, turn right and follow the road under the Council building, the road will take you to the front car park.
Please being some change as you have to pay to park at County Hall now.
The Hawarden Road application for 32 homes is now in planning and open for public consultation.
DETAILS OF HOW TO OBJECT AND THE POLICIES YOU CAN REFERENCE ARE IN THIS DOCUMENT:
If you can't get the document for any reason, the information is also on the Hawarden Road page here >>>
The Flintshire Planning Portal can be found here:
DEADLINE IS 21st APRIL 2017
