Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
Vale of Glamorgan Council

Just before work started on the development of Barry Docks I was at the meeting of Soroptimist International Barry & District. We had invited a Speaker to inform us of the development. His opening "light hearted" remark, mistakenly thinking everyone present was from Barry, was - "Everyone from Dinas Powys should sell up now". He was of course referring to the traffic. As Chaucer said "many a true word is spoken in jest". I was devastated by that remark, my only consolation was that it was 'brown land'. You are STILL building in that area. Anyone wishing to visit Cardiff City, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Football Ground and Llandough Hospital has to pass through the bottle neck which is our village. We have already had one large Development at Scholars Park but at least that was built on the foot print of the former school and not on green space. As one member of the electorate informed me "God can't create anymore green fields". I can't believe you would allow Westminster to dictate to you and allow greedy developers to build on GREEN WEDGE LAND. I make this statement as I'm reliably informed that Wales has already filled its quota for new houses dictated by this Labour Government, which even avid Labour supporters are telling me is the worst Government ever.

It is even more worrying that you could even think of putting ANOTHER set of traffic lights to allow access and egress to the proposed development causing even more chaos on Cardiff Road. Also where will be the secondary access for emergency services which I'm informed is a requirement and mysteriously didn't appear on the plan we were shown?

We are assured a Survey has been done and there is no pollution. Have any of you Councillors, who we put in power trusting that you would make our lives better, walked from Eastbrook along Cardiff Road to Dinas Infants School and smelt the fumes or felt the heat coming off the cars, especially when our children and grandchildren are 'actively travelling' to and from schools on a narrow road gridlocked with traffic at the height of rush hour.

Much is talked about "anxiety" in this day and age. Do any of you Councillors consider the anxiety of those residents of Dinas Powys who were flooded in 2020? Did you not see Cardiff Road flooded last year? Flood prevention measures were not included in the plans we were shown at the Public Consultation Meeting on 6th February I was assured by your Planning Officer that we would have another opportunity to object when the "Final Plan" is submitted but nowhere could I see this in the Timeline. After much research I now find the only chance we will have to object is to request to speak at the Planning Meeting when the Plan is debated. At the moment no one will tell me the date of this meeting, just not before October/November or how many people will be permitted to speak for a maximum 3 minutes each. Will you sneak it through before the August Recess like you did the Extraordinary Meeting on 6 January when Councillors were given a 1,000 page report to read over Christmas and the New Year?

I have also found out that the Independent Examination will be carried out by PEDW. The Chief Planning Inspector of which, who was appointed by the Welsh Government is married the Head of Sustainable Development, who advised the Councillors at above meeting when the RDLP was APPROVED. I fail to see how either of these Officers or their respective departments can be impartial.

The population of Dinas Powys is twice that of Cowbridge, we don't have the facilities of a town. We don't have a Bypass. We don't even qualify for a road sweeper like the towns in the Vale (one of my neighbours takes a black bag and litter picker when he walks his grandchildren to and from school) yet you still think you can dump more misery on us. We can't get a Doctor's appointment when health issues necessitate it, our senior schools are over subscribed, Cardiff Road is gridlock and can't cope with residential and passing traffic now. How in the name of sanity do you think our village can cope with another 250 houses, possibly another 500 cars and 750 - 1,000 people? And it makes you wonder - is this just the start? How long before all the green fields between Eastbrook, Llandough and Pen-y-turnpike will be covered in housing?

As I delivered leaflets to the residents of Dinas Powys I was disheartened and appalled at some of the comments I received: "You're wasting your time - it's a done deal." "The Councillors/Officers have already received their backhanders off Persimmon" "The Vale Council is hand in glove with Persimmon" "We tried to stop Scholars Park but the Council don't listen to the residents, they just want the money"

Many of these views are also shared on Dinas Powys Chat Facebook page - it might be worth you taking a look if you have any ambition of standing for public office again.

We fought this development two years ago and when it didn't go ahead we were so relieved and believed that our Councillors had listened to reason and the wish of the Electorate - how naive were we.

For once do the right thing and change the perception the electorate I met has of the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Prove them wrong - vote against the RDLP. Any Councillor who votes for this development is once again letting down the residents of the Vale of Glamorgan, Dinas Powys and particularly Eastbrook. Prove to the electorate that you are a democratic Council working on behalf of the people who voted for you.

PS I can assure you that you would have had a lot more objections if your online portal was more user friendly. Many of our elderly residents, which is a large proportion of our population, did not have the means or ability to access it, let along navigate it or even print out the Forms. Am I being cynical or could this be deliberate?