My comment on planning application, reference S/21597 Land at Mountain Road, Pembrey – submitted on 6th August 2019:
I write to confirm my continuing opposition to application to build houses on the land between Mountain Road Pembrey and Garreglwyd: Planning Application S/21597
- In addition to the points that I have raised previously, I am now very concerned about any future development taking place in this location because of the traffic situation at the Sandy Road lights. According to figures from the Council’s own Highways department, traffic is queueing for some 15 – 20 minutes at peak times to get through Sandy Road, a situation that the Council has been unable to resolve since the installation of the lights some 22 months ago in October 2017. This has also led to a massive increase in traffic in nearby areas like Furnace Square which were not built for such high volumes of traffic. Resdients of any development at Garreglwyd are likely to need to travel to Llanelli and beyond for work and leisure purposes, so the infrastructure problems need to be fully resolved, before any application for more houses at Garreglwyd is considered.
I restate my previous opposition based upon the following concerns:
- The council’s own professional planning officers identified 11 reasons relating directly to council policies why a very similar application S/17923 should be turned down. Whilst there have been some modifications to the current application S/21597 in respect of traffic, surface water and listed building consideration to which I refer below, the officers’ other reasons still stand.
- Traffic dangers – whilst I accept that these proposals will not now have an entrance onto Mountain Road, there are still dangers with the very considerable increase in traffic on the steep road up through Garreglwyd and increased traffic at the junction with Danlan Road (A484) and junction with Danlan Road ( service road to houses)
- Sewerage and surface water flooding issues – Overload of the sewerage system has already been identified as a reason to reject this application, and it remains a major worry for residents, and the new plans do not offer sufficient reassurance in this respect .The surface water run –off from the area will significantly increase the risk of flooding to properties which are situated downhill from the new development. The plan to use the existing culvert in Garreglwyd and discharge water onto the disused railway (which is now a cycle track) is totally inadequate to deal with the very significant increase in run-off that there will be during downpours from the hard surfaces of buildings and roads compared to from fields. The Council should not allow development which is going to increase flood risk to existing properties, and council officers and Welsh Water officers are aware that there are properties very close by which already have problems . Even though the planned attenuation tanks are intended to hold back water, in reality they are rarely completely empty at the beginning of a downpour, and may in fact be pretty full -therefore their impact is unreliable, as, once full, the water will run down as fast as if they were not in use. I understand that the council will be taking over the maintenance of these tanks and will be paid a one-off sum by the developers to do so. I am very concerned that the Council is taking on additional permanent responsibilities which could prove problematic, and could require on-going maintenance or major overhaul that could cost the council more that the developers will have paid. Why take this risk?
- Listed building consideration – Cwrt Farm is currently a Grade 11* listed building, which may be further upgraded to Grade 1 listed building status. Whilst I appreciate the redesigning of the plans in an attempt to create green space near Cwrt Farm, nonetheless, the proposed development would still have a negative impact on the setting of this unique building, and could jeopardise future restoration proposals.
Yours sincerely,
Nia Griffith MP