Testun llawn:
1. The Eastbrook Site is not a sustainable or logical location for growth
The Dinas Powys Community Council’s planning consultant confirms that the Eastbrook site is not a logical extension of the settlement. It is separate from Dinas Powys, it is poorly connected, and would be served by only a single vehicular access from Cardiff Road at the northernmost limits of the village - a significant distance form local services and amenities.
This means the allocation fails core LDP principles regarding:
• Compact, contiguous, sustainable settlement growth
• Accessibility to local services
• Minimising reliance on car travel
The RLDP proposes to allocate land that inherently cannot support sustainable transport patterns and would produce a heavily car dependent community.
2. Severe Traffic and Congestion Impacts
Traffic impacts are a major and well evidenced concern. The RLDP objections note that increased traffic and congestion would result from the Eastbrook allocation, especially given poor access, poor transport options, and reliance on car commuting to Cardiff.
Bus services between Dinas Powys and Cardiff are not regular. The proposed settlement is some distance from Eastbrook and Cogan stations. Safe cycle routes do not extend beyond the junction for Llandough Hill. All of this makes it more likely that residents of any new development would rely on cars. Dinas Powys already suffers major congestion, with residents highlighting severe pinch points and inadequate road capacity. These concerns previously related predominantly to peak times, but increasingly delays and congestion on this section of Cardiff Road are the norm for large portions of the day. The single vehicular access would feed into a road at a congested junction for traffic to and from Penarth and Llandough. This area is already a bottleneck.
Allocating a site with only one access point onto an already overburdened Cardiff Road directly contradicts RLDP transport and climate objectives.
3. Significant Flood Risk Affecting the Eastbrook Area
Published evidence shows that parts of the Eastbrook/Dinas Powys area lie within flood risk zones associated with the Cadoxton River, and that the community has experienced severe historic flooding, most recently in 2020 following the last significant housing developments, prompting government funded flood defences.
The RLDP must comply with national planning policies requiring:
• Avoidance of flood risk locations
• No increase in downstream flood impacts
• Protection of communities at existing risk
Allocating a large greenfield site that will replace permeable land with hard surfaces, increasing runoff and downstream flood risk, violates these principles.
4. Loss of Green Wedge, Landscape Integrity, and Ecological Value
The Eastbrook site forms part of a protected Green Wedge separating Dinas Powys, Penarth, and Llandough. Development here would cause significant loss of landscape and ecology value and would harm the Green Wedge’s function under the Vale of Glamorgan’s Policy MG18.
Green Wedges are intended to prevent settlement coalescence, protect landscape character, and maintain ecological continuity. Developing this area would directly conflict with those objectives.
5. Infrastructure Constraints: Schools, Medical Services, Transport, Drainage
Along with other residents, I have serious concerns about school capacity, medical provision, drainage, sewage infrastructure, and transport networks, all of which are already under strain.
The RLDP must ensure that allocated sites can be supported by existing or improved infrastructure. There is no evidence that the Eastbrook site meets this requirement, nor that mitigation is feasible or justified.
6. The RLDP Growth Strategy Does Not Justify an Unsuitable Site
While the Vale of Glamorgan must meet its housing targets, the RLDP is required to allocate appropriate and sustainable sites. Whilst this site could theoretically contribute to housing targets, the Council must still adhere to sustainability principles and avoid high risk or disconnected areas. The Eastbrook site fails on sustainability, accessibility, flood risk and landscape protection grounds—and therefore cannot be justified as part of the RLDP’s housing supply.
