Gwrthwynebu
1 Ymgynghoriad ar Cynllun Datblygu Lleol Newydd
ID sylw: 5393
Derbyniwyd: 08/03/2026
Respondent ID: 3069
Ymatebydd: Mrs Clair Thomas
Cadarn? Nac Ydi
Unknown.
I believe the reclassification of Wick as a Primary Settlement is unjustified based on its limited differences with nearby villages like St Brides Major. The evidence does not demonstrate Wick's significantly greater service role, accessibility, infrastructure, or employment opportunities. The slight advantages, such as proximity to a train station, are negligible in practice, especially given the comparable proximity of St Brides Major to a better-served rail station. Without clear evidence of Wick's wider service functions or sustainability, its reclassification risks contradicting the spatial strategy of promoting development in the most sustainable locations.
Wick should remain classified as a Minor Rural Settlement.
The reclassification of Wick as a Primary Settlement appears unjustified when considered against the settlement hierarchy and the characteristics normally associated with settlements expected to accommodate a greater proportion of growth. The evidence base provides limited explanation for this change and does not clearly demonstrate that Wick performs a significantly greater service role or has materially better accessibility, infrastructure, or employment opportunities than comparable nearby villages such as St Brides Major, which remains classified as a Minor Rural Settlement despite appearing to have a broadly similar level of local facilities. For example, although Wick has scored ‘higher’ than St Brides Major in several categories due to it being ‘closer’ to other amenities such as a train station, in reality this equates to only a few extra minutes by car or bus (noting they are served by the same bus route) as the difference is barely 3 miles along a winding national speed limit road with no footpaths (and thus not safely walkable or cyclable), as is the onward journey between Wick and Llantwit Major; travelling via the National Cycle Route through St Donat’s would take the journey over the 5 mile scoring threshold for Wick. Thus, in practical terms the difference is negligible and, in fact, St Brides lies geographically closer to Bridgend rail station which has a far greater service provision than Llantwit Major. This objection is not intended to suggest that St Brides’s Major should also be a Primary Settlement, but to argue that by comparison, Wick should not be reclassified. Without clear evidence that Wick functions as a wider service centre or offers greater sustainability credentials, its reclassification risks being inconsistent with the plan’s spatial strategy of directing development toward the most sustainable and well-served locations.