Testun llawn:
I support the allocation of Site 464, land opposite St David’s Church in Wales Primary School, Colwinston, as the most appropriate affordable-housing-led site for the village. The Council’s own evidence distinguishes this site from other Colwinston options: while market-led housing here would not be acceptable, the site has expressly been identified as capable of reconsideration for a small-scale affordable-housing-led development, subject to need, viability and agricultural land survey work, at a maximum of 25 dwellings.
This makes Site 464 a better fit with the RLDP strategy than larger countryside sites. The RLDP supports small-scale affordable-housing-led development in minor rural settlements at a scale proportionate to the community, with a minimum of 50% affordable housing, specifically to help younger and working-age households remain in their communities and to sustain local services, including schools. By contrast, the Council’s own assessment of land to the east of Colwinston states that it would represent unacceptable intrusion into the open countryside and is at a scale that could not be considered a suitable affordable-housing-led site.
Site 464 is also the stronger option in accessibility and placemaking terms. It sits opposite the village primary school, by the bus stop, and next to an existing footpath. This directly reflects RLDP Objective 8, which seeks development in locations accessible by walking, cycling and public transport and which increase opportunities for active travel. The Council’s own infrastructure evidence for Colwinston refers to improved bus stops, safe pedestrian crossing, and enhanced walking and cycling links around St David’s Primary School and the wider village.
The site is therefore better aligned with Welsh and local policy on sustainable rural communities, active travel and climate resilience. The Council’s A48-to-Colwinston active travel work is intended to improve safe access to bus stops, schools and community facilities and forms part of its wider climate response. In that context, locating affordable homes where future residents can walk to the school, bus stop and community facilities is a more sustainable outcome than growth that is less well integrated with those everyday destinations.
The affordable housing case is compelling. The Vale’s Local Housing Market Assessment identifies very substantial affordable housing need, and the RLDP confirms that Colwinston is one of the rural settlements intended to accommodate affordable-housing-led growth. Local lettings policies are also intended to continue in minor rural settlements, helping such homes serve people with genuine local connections and preserving community balance over time.
For those reasons, Site 464 should be preferred as the most appropriate form of growth for Colwinston: modest in scale, affordable-housing-led, related to the existing village form, supportive of the school and community facilities, and more closely aligned with the Council’s own strategy for minor rural settlements. If the Council is to allocate growth in Colwinston, it should do so in the form that its own evidence indicates may be appropriate here.
