Testun llawn:
I strongly object to the development. My full reasons are set out on the attached document, 3 pages long. This is the wrong area for development. I am willing to speak at a Committee.
I am writing as a long-standing resident of Dinas Powys to register my strongest objection to the proposed allocation HG1 KS2 Eastbrook in the Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP).
This is not simply a planning matter to me; it is about the long-term well-being of my family, my community, and the future character of the place we call home. The allocation is unsafe, unjustified, environmentally damaging, and would permanently destroy a green space that is central to our physical and mental well-being. It is also inconsistent with key Welsh and UK legislation, including Planning Policy Wales (PPW11), Technical Advice Note 15 (TAN 15), the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013, the Equality Act 2010, Future Wales: The National Plan 2040, and the new Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill passed on 24 February 2026.
The Eastbrook fields are not just land on a map. They are where many of us walk to clear our heads, where children play, where wildlife still thrives, and where the landscape opens enough to breathe. Once this green wedge is built on, it is lost forever. No amount of landscaping or token open space can replace the sense of calm, identity, and connection to nature that these fields provide. Removing this strategic green wedge undermines PPW11 and Future Wales policies on settlement identity, green infrastructure and the protection of open space, and conflicts with the Well-being of Future Generations Act duty to improve the social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales over the long term.
The roads around Eastbrook are already congested and fragile. The Council has not provided the required traffic modelling, junction capacity testing, or a deliverable second/emergency access. Without this, the site is not safe or deliverable. This approach conflicts with PPW11 and Future Wales, which require transport impacts and resilience to be properly assessed at plan-making stage, and with the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013, which prioritises walking and cycling over car-dependent development. The lack of step-free access at Eastbrook Station also raises concerns under the Equality Act 2010, as increased reliance on an inaccessible station disadvantages disabled people and those with mobility impairments - this is discrimination. Active travel should be safe for all pedestrians, however the proposed accesses would pose serious risk to women & girls if you expect them to be walked through at night especially. The paths are through existing parkland, with no lights and no clear visibility around sharp corners, no surveillance. I would not walk them & I certainly would not expect my daughter to. Again, discrimination. These areas, including Seel Park, will become 'no-go' areas. I would be devastated to see the parkland, woodland and adjoining fields destroyed.
Flooding is another major concern. The fields are often waterlogged, and the RLDP has not shown that the site can be made flood-safe. There is no modelling of downstream impacts, no cumulative assessment, no demonstration that SuDS can be accommodated, and no evidence of drainage network capacity. Allocating land without proving it can be safely developed is irresponsible and contrary to TAN 15 and PPW11, which require flood risk to be addressed at the plan stage and not deferred to later applications.
The Eastbrook fields also have clear biodiversity value as semi-natural green space and wildlife habitat, including owls and bats. The RLDP provides no robust ecological evidence and no credible path to biodiversity net benefit. This conflicts with the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, which places a duty on public authorities to seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity and promote the resilience of ecosystems. It is now even more clearly unacceptable in light of the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill, passed by the Senedd on 24 February 2026, which establishes legally binding biodiversity targets and a new Office of Environmental Governance Wales to hold public bodies to account. That landmark legislation is explicitly framed as a response to the nature and climate emergencies and is intended to halt and reverse biodiversity decline in Wales. Proceeding with the allocation of HG1 KS2 Eastbrook-destroying a functioning green wedge and wildlife habitat without clear evidence of biodiversity enhancement-directly contradicts the spirit and intent of this new law and the wider duties under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.
Our schools, GP surgeries, and emergency services are already overstretched. Adding hundreds of new residents without committed, funded infrastructure will make life harder for everyone who already lives here. This undermines the "A More Equal Wales" and "A Healthier Wales" goals of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, and fails the RLDP tests of soundness on effectiveness and deliverability.
For all these reasons — the permanent loss of green space, the harm to community well-being, the unresolved safety issues, the flood risk, the failure to protect and enhance biodiversity in the context of the new Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill, and the lack of supporting infrastructure - I strongly object to the allocation of HG1 KS2 Eastbrook. This is the wrong site, it conflicts with Welsh and national legislation and policy, and the consequences would be irreversible. There are no advantages for the people of Dinas Powys if this development goes ahead - - not one. Please remove HG1 KS2 Eastbrook from the RLDP.
