Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
Vale of Glamorgan Council

For the reasons set out above, the allocation of the site at Llangan for additional Gypsy and Traveller pitches is not justified and is inconsistent with the Council’s own policy framework and previous legal commitments relating to the land.
· The site should therefore be removed from the Replacement Local Development Plan and alternative sites identified which better meet the criteria set out in the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment and Policy MD18.
· New site grants are available and cost should not be a material planning consideration.

· In around June 2017, Llangan Action, Llangan Community Council and the traveller family occupying the site reached an agreement with the VOG for vacation of the site and for the site to be transferred to the Community Council for use by the community. The proposal in the RLDP for the site is wholly contrary to what was agreed.
· The site is not suitable for the proposed use and does not meet the VOG’s own criteria for a gypsy and traveller site, including because:
o Access is poor, with the lane being only 2.5m wide, which is less than the recommended access requirements for emergency vehicles of 3.7m. Extending the pitches would also restrict the ability of emergency vehicles to turn around on the site.
o The site is situated in low-lying land and has poor drainage.
o There is no public footpath near the site and no street lighting.
o There is no public transport and the site is not reasonably accessible to day-to-day services, such as medical facilities, shops and community facilities. Cowbridge is around 7.5km from the site.
o The size of the site and number of pitches is not appropriate to its location and accommodation needs.
· Further:
o The site would not meet the standards required for social housing. The same standards apply for housing for the Gypsy and Traveller community.
o The scale of the proposed number of pitches poses a real risk of escalating fear and tension within the local community, which would be contrary to encouraging and developing good relations between Gypsy Travellers and the settled community.
o The site is in a Special Landscape Area and adjacent to the Llangan Conservation Area. The RDLP background paper acknowledges the importance of protecting views and landscape character within these areas. The proposed expansion is contrary to that view.
o The agreement reached with the VOG to transfer the site to the Community Council for use as allotments (following the success of a similar project in the neighbouring village of Treoes) would better meet the VOG’s vision to in its RLDP objectives to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and to enhance and promote community facilities and services in the VOG.
o The proposed expansion of the site goes against the VOG’s objective to reduce the need for travel for VOG residents to meet their daily needs.
o The proposed development would also be contrary to the VOG’s object to protect and enhance the VOG’s historic, built and natural environment.
o The fact that the VOG owns the site does not in and of itself make it suitable for the proposed expansion.