Testun llawn:
Objection 1 – The size of the proposed development.
The Welsh Government have stated a requirement for 8,660 additional houses to be built within the Vale of Glamorgan.
Of the 5 key sites, St Athan is most heavily targeted with proposals of 1150 new dwellings within the Church Farm sites and Land West of St Athan site, with additional dwellings at other locations within the village.
There is a heavily weighted population increased to the village of St Athan within the 2 key sites and other proposals within St Athan, compared with the other key sites.
An increase of over 1150 dwellings and the associated increase in number of residents would significantly change the existing settlement of St Athan.
Section SSC1 of the RLDP
6.27 To ensure that new development within settlement boundaries is successfully integrated, proposals will need to demonstrate that they complement the layout, scale, fabric, and appearance of the existing settlement. It will also be important to ensure that the scale and quantity of such developments is in proportion to the size of the settlement, and the range of services and community facilities that are available at the time of the application.
The proposal discusses plans to improve infrastructure, facilities and services, recognising that there will be a need to provide additional resources to meet the needs of the increased population.
This is acknowledging that there is not the current infrastructure at the time of the application as stated in point 6.27 of the RLDP.
1a. The size of the proposed development is too big for St Athan to maintain its character and will fail to provide adequate resources and infrastructure to meet the needs of the additional population, contravening section SSC1 6.27 of the RLDP
The Vale of Glamorgan Council have suggested that St Athan is a suitable placement to justify this number of additional homes, based on the potential employment opportunities at Bro Tathan Business Park.
Section SP6
6.95 - the adjoining Bro Tathan Enterprise Zone provides a range of employment opportunities, with the delivery of a significant number of additional jobs expected over the plan period, ensuring new housing is co-located with employment opportunities
The RLDP requests new housing to be co-located with employment opportunities.
The term “expected” in relation to additional jobs is not a sufficient basis for proposing that the development ensures housing is co-located with employment opportunities if the opportunities do not currently exist.
Are the 8,660 homes stated by the Welsh Government required to meet the needs of the current residents of the Vale of Glamorgan, or is it to meet the predicted need of the influx of additional residents, attracted to the area by employment opportunities?
If St Athan is required to have significant growth to the community, it would be to meet the needs of existing and current residents of St Athan and the Vale?
The delivery of new or improved infrastructure must be undertaken in a timely and coordinated manner to mee the needs of existing and planned communities prior to, or from the commencement of, the relevant phases of development. – RLDP
“We need to pledge that employment, training and investment in the built environment is achieved before houses are built otherwise more people are using cars etc.” BP1 Engagement Report
1b. The proposal to build a significant number of dwellings to house employees of jobs that do not currently exist appears to be illogical, and contravenes SP6 6.95.
Objection 2 – The layout of the access road on Gileston Road
The proposal to have access for vehicles belonging to 550 dwellings onto Gileston Road is completely unacceptable.
SP13 of the RLDP states the requirement of ensuring community infrastructure is not significantly compromised by new developments.
Gileston Road currently struggles to cope with existing traffic, being the main road into and out of the village.
Additional traffic from the new development will be overwhelming, create a bottle neck for all, and a huge safety risk to residents, road users and pedestrians.
It is noted that phase 2 of the Church Farm development has access from the B4265 via a roundabout.
Residents of St Athan all concur that a single point of access to the new proposed development should be from the B4265, thus minimising any additional traffic onto Gileston Road.
It is also noted that the proposal for the Land West of St Athan has a single access point from the B4265, and it is generally agreed that this is a favoured option for the Church Farm development.
2. There should NOT be any access from the Church Farm Development onto Gileston Road.
Objection 3 – Placement of the proposed supermarket.
With the current proposal and placement of the supermarket, is it anticipated that there will be increased traffic onto Gileston Road from other Vale residents accessing the store, creating further traffic numbers, congestion and hazard to St Athan residents.
Section PGD1
6.42 Issues associated with unacceptable impacts on residential amenity should be addressed during the design process especially where mixed use developments are proposed
It is noted that the Transport Plans have assessed impacts of increased vehicular activity resulting from the number of dwellings, but do not make any reference to the expected impact of increased volumes of traffic resulting from visiting residents of the Vale to the new proposed supermarket, and the impact this will have on Gileston Road.
Moving the proposed site of the supermarket to the roundabout access on the main road B4265 will mitigate any additional traffic using Gileston Road and allow safer access for all residents of the Vale.
It is understood that there was a request from St Athan Community Council to have the Supermarket in the North West area.
It is understood that this request was regarding the North West area of St Athan, closer to the new development of Parc Fferm Wen and Eglis Brewis, rather than the North West area of the proposed development.
St Athan is currently served by small local businesses offering convenience goods. The addition of a large supermarket will place direct competition on these businesses, risking loss of income and employment for many residents of St Athan.
PGD1
6.42 Issues associated with unacceptable impacts on residential amenity should be addressed during the design process.
The placement of the supermarket outside the central village location will reduce the direct competition to these businesses.
3. Placement of the proposed supermarket next to the access point of phase 2 from the main road B4265 will ease any potential congestion on Gileston Road from non St Athan residents and minimise direct competition to the current businesses in St Athan.
Objection 4 – Coping with Waste Water
The residents of St Athan recognise the demands on the infrastructure the new developments will be placing on existing utilities.
Within the RDLP, it is noted that:
6.102 There is limited capacity in West Aberthaw Waste Water Treatment Works (WwTW). A scheme to upgrade the WwTW is planned as part of the current AMP investment period (2025-2030). If the development wishes to connect in advance of the completion of the AMP scheme, then the developer would need to undertake a Developer Impact Assessment (DIA) to establish the reinforcement works needed at the WwTW to accommodate their site.
4. The proposed development will not be able to be supported by existing utilities.
