Testun llawn:
I would like to strongly object the plans to develop on this site. Although I am sympathetic of the need for additional housing, I feel that this site at this time is totally unsuitable for a number of reasons. I think most reasonable people would agree if they spent time at the site and surrounding areas they too could identify issues which will make this development unsuitable and will negatively impact existing residents of the Vale of Glamorgan.
Flood risk - I walk in these fields regularly and between October and April each year, these fields and surrounding gullies hold an incredible amount of water - both through gullies between fields (which are rivers over the winter) and standing water. Once houses and roads are built (both totally waterproof) then this will cause extensive run off into drainage systems which are already unfit for purpose. Areas of Dinas Powys are prone to flooding and this excess water will only exasperate the issue. I fear that the houses currently situated along Cardiff road at the bottom end of the proposed site will be flooded as the existing infrastructure will not be able to move water away fast enough. I know that measures have been put in place to tackle this, but if you spent time in the area, saw how much standing water is in place, saw how many trees are in place (which were included in the council's flood defense plans?) then you'd quickly realise that this won't be a sustainable solution. Wasn't the environmental report carried out by the building company hoping to purchase the land - is this even legal?
Traffic - I ask anyone on the planning committee to try and travel through Dinas Powys on Cardiff Road at rush hour and state that the road is able to take an additional 300-400 cars. I've lived in the area for nearly 20 years and have seen the volume of traffic increase significantly over this period. It's no longer limited to rush hour congestion, but avoiding queues is now an exception, not the norm. The additional traffic this development will generate will have massive consequences on the movement of traffic coming in and out of the area. Neighbouring roads such as Pennyturnpike Rd will also be impacted by people trying to avoid the congestion on Cardiff Road. The development is trying to promote clean travel, but this seems to be a smokescreen. Unless residents are forced to take public transport, then they will revert to their cars just like the rest of the population does. Parents won't want to walk their children to school in the rain on such narrow pavements surrounded by frustrated and impatient drivers. They'll jump in their car and turn and hour's job into something that takes much less time and effort. That seems completely obvious. Also don't forget the footbridge over Eastbrook station, which will add another 25 minute walk on anyone using the other side of the station who may have a bike, a buggy or mobility issues. The infrastructure just isn't there...
Local Services - have you tried arranging a doctors appointment at Dinas Powys surgery? Trying phoning during the small window where appointments are allocated and see how many attempts it can take before you can access the system, then time how long it takes before you get to speak to someone. Then hope that all of the appointments have not been taken. This can be incredibly distressing for people. The population is getting older and more people are being shoehorned into this little community, then shouldn't extra provision be put in place?
Shouldn't it be the responsibility of the local council to ensure that it's current residents are well serviced before it even starts thinking about additional developments? Shouldn't councils carry out independent reviews on areas of potential development to identify issues and insist that housing developers are responsible to mitigate against them in advance - make the roads and pavements better, build more schools, invest in village wide drainage infrastructure etc etc... Once those houses are up and they have the money, they'll be gone and us residents will be left with the consequences.
