Testun llawn:
Retail - Land at Bridge House Farm Site ID 379 Proposal Number SP12(2)
In 2022 LIDL submitted a planning application for a supermarket on a parcel of land which had in the past been part of Bridge House Farm. The farmhiuse itself had stood vacant for a number of years until it was recently purchased and is being restored as a family home.
The application attracted a great dea of concern and objetions based on the fact that this development would result in both visual and physical coalescence between Llanmaes and Llantwit Major. Its entrance would be directly off the main access lane to Llanmaes, close to the main road junction,managed by traffic lights and pedestrian crossing.
The planners at the Vale of Glamorgan recommended refusal of this application based on the the fact that the site was outside the RLDP's defined strategic growth area and other associated concerns. However at the planning meeting, a small number of Councillors argued in favour of the development , based on the need for ' cheap food', and as such the application was approved. Since this meeting , the application has been referred to PEDW, and their initial assessment that an appeal should be heard, the application has been escalated to a full enquiry at great expense to all parties. This ' cheap food 'option not quite such a special offer after all.
In order to overcome the sitution that this overturning of the planners' recommendation has created, a simple remedy would be for the Welsh Government to offer an alternative site to LIDL . The nearby Northen Access road which was built at considerable cost to the taxpayer for commercial and residential development has easy access, pedestrian and cycle way, together with Bus stops with shelters , though no current bus route. A Win / Win solution.
Flood Alleviation
The need for a flood alleviation scheme for Llanmaes is acknowledged on several occasions in the Deposit Plan , thugh unfortunately there are no specific proposals. Having lived in Llanmaes for 7 years, I have whitnessed regular flooding from surface water over the wetter months when the village stream and drains are unable to cope with the volume of water. This water then overwhelms the sewage system in the village resulting in raw sewage flooding a number of homes as well as the village playing field . This flooding also results in road flooding in at least 3 places around the village lanes. This has become an annual occurance, and despite intervention from Welsh Water , the situation has not been resolved. A Welsh Government grant for an alleviation scheme has to date not been implimented and this scheme needs to be revived for the safety of the village residents.
I trust the comments I have made above will be considered with the seriousness they deserve. Our rural communities deserve to be maintained for the wellbeing not only of the residents, but the environment as a whole. Llanmaes enjoys an abundnace of wildlife which needs to be preserved . Seing a pheasant aongside a woodpigeon crossing the road restores one's faith in our surroundings. Alongside the acres of wheat and corn ,they need those green field sites as do we.
