Agenda item

To receive the report of the Director of Prosperity & Development.

The Director of Prosperity and Development presented a report to Members which set out the Preferred Strategy for the Revised Local Development Plan (RLDP) 2022 – 2037, (shown in full at Appendix 1.) The report sought Members approval to carry out statutory public consultation on the RLDP Preferred Strategy that has been prepared in accordance with legislation and national planning policy.

The Director continued that the report sets out the key Issues, Vision, Objectives and strategy options; before presenting a Preferred Strategy. At this strategic level, it will seek to address the needs of RCT by proposing levels of development growth and where this should be spatially distributed across the County Borough. It is considered that several key elements of the current LDP strategy are sound; particularly a need to continue with the different strategy approach for the north and south of the County Borough.

The Leader thanked the officers for the report which is now proposed to move to the next stage for statutory consultation. He advised that feedback from the consultation will then be considered before progressing through to the next stages. He commented that whilst the targets for housebuilding are realistic, there is a need to ensure that infrastructure is planned alongside this to ensure medical facilities, schools and sufficient green spaces for leisure and play are available as well as the expansion to the South Wales Metro

The Leader of the Opposition sought clarity around candidate sites, urged all members to input into the candidate sites to avoid contentious issues going forward when planning applications are received. The Member referred to the two train stations mentioned in the LDP at Hirwaun and Rhigos and asked for the exact location of these stations and asked if there would be consultation with local residents. 

The Director of Prosperity and Development advised that he could not confirm the location of the stations at present and the role of the LDP will be to protect available land for the proposed line extension and stations but the process of determining where those will be will be a separate exercise carried out by Transport colleagues including Highways and Transport for Wales.

The Leader of the RCT Independent Group asked if there is opportunity for the Council to engage with residents on flood mitigation matters. The Member also raised concerns that the proposed 9,000 extra properties to be built will be served by a single carriageway and with the roads already congested this would result in a huge increase in congestion in and around the area. He asked if alternative options are being considered in the Active travel plan encourage residents to leave their cars at home and use public transport. He also commented that as part of reducing the amount of traffic on the roads and with the relocation of the Council’s Head Office to Pontypridd, whether a flexible approach to staff required to attend the office should also be considered so they attend only when necessary

The Director of Prosperity and Development advised that the role of the LDP will be to promote development that protects existing communities from flooding and where possible to prevent new development in areas that are liable to flooding and where development is needed in areas liable to flooding that it is done in a way that is resilient to flooding as possible. The Director continued that in terms of the 9,000 properties that need to be delivered, he clarified that he is not yet in a position to confirm the sites but any sites identified for development are likely to have some form of issue around infrastructure, flooding or Biodiversity which will be addressed throughout the draft stages of the plan. In terms of the Railway halt at Pontypridd, he commented that Pontypridd is seen as one of the Strategic principal growth areas but determining individual projects like a rail halt was not the role of the preferred strategy at this stage.

A Member raised concern with the Strategy as the Eastern side of the proposed development in Llantwit Fardre has been called in by Welsh Government and that planning permission had been overturned due to it being a C2 Flood Plane and the planning inspectorate also reporting that building on this site would be a breach of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act Wales, therefore the plan is not deliverable.  He also sought clarification on the £8m being invested towards the clearance of the coal colliery in Beddau.

The Director replied that he takes on board the Members comments, he advised that to get to this stage the flooding issue has been overcome and this is the preferred strategy that is for public consultation and we will take on board comments that come back before sites are taken forward for development.

A Member, who is also a member of the LDP Steering Group, commented on making the list of the potential three hundred sites public as soon as possible.  He further requested that consideration is given to the natural environment and refrain from overdeveloping communities so if the demographic changes the targets will be revised to reflect the data in order to preserve green spaces where possible. The Member also requested that the Council considers, where possible, that new developments have the supporting infrastructure in place, with sufficient affordable housing and adequate public transport links are considered as part of the planning process. The Member concluded that support for the Welsh language is key and opportunities should be available for pupils in the new developments to attend a Welsh school in their community.

The Director thanked the Member for their comments and advised that all evidence currently points towards needing the nine thousand homes and stated that the more of these that the Council is able to deliver upon, the more affordable housing it can offer. He added that the Council is statutorily required to review the plan every four years and reassured that if the housing need changes, adjustments to the figures can be made. He confirmed that the candidate sites will also be made available at time of the public consultation. He also reassured the Member that Biodiversity occupies a higher priority in the planning process than it has ever before and applicants will be required to evidence mitigations or enhancements to biodiversity before development is approved.

A Member sought clarity on the section of the report that suggests that more affordable housing is required than can be built on. The Director replied that of the nine thousand homes planned for, in effect over five thousand of those would be required to deal with the people currently on the housing waiting list which is a significant amount. He confirmed that there is a very high demand for affordable housing more than can be realistically delivered.

A Member raised concern at the number of large empty buildings in Pontypridd town centre and asked what the Council is doing to attract good quality businesses to take over those units. The Director replied that the LDP promotes Pontypridd as a town and encourages the conversion of large empty buildings. He added that this has been successful in terms of regeneration and most recently the Council has seen private developers take on the old HSBC Bank to bring it back into commercial use. He confirmed that the Council will continue with those programmes to promote regeneration schemes.

A Member referred to the support available to businesses that are affected by roadworks in the valleys and asked if this has been considered as part of the plan. The Director replied that the Council will look to maximise the benefit of the investment of the dualling of the A465 and the Strategic site at Hirwaun is one of the ways the LDP is proposing that this is done. He added that the Northern Strategy will promote these opportunities for sustainable growth and communities in village centres across our Northern valleys.

A Member conveyed their disappointment that Treorchy is not being appointed as principal town, the Member commented that the term key settlement was inadequate and requested that this to be reviewed as part of the consultation process.

Following the conclusion of the discussions, it was RESOLVED to:

Approve the RLDP Preferred Strategy for statutory public and stakeholder consultation

(Note: Councillor K Johnson wished to have it recorded that he voted against the recommendation).