
Pembrokeshire village affordable housing scheme amendments sought
AMENDMENTS to approved plans for a scheme for 67 affordable homes in a Pembrokeshire village have been lodged with council planning officers.
In an application given officer delegated powers of approval at the February meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council's planning committee, Ateb Group Limited sought permission for a '100 per cent affordable' residential development of 57 houses and 10 bungalows, and associated works, at land off The Kilns, Llangwm, the site already having permission for 54 homes.
An officer report, recommending approval, said a social housing grant has been secured for the first phase of the proposed development, for 25 dwellings, with the mix of the second phase indicative at this stage.
Llangwm Community Council had raised issues including sewerage system capacity, a lack of facilities in the village and at nearby Cleddau Reach School for the size of the development, and potential traffic congestion.
18 letters of concern, including from Cleddau Reach VC school were also received, raising issues including traffic and parking, a loss of privacy, the scale and design of the development, the scheme representing a 'fundamental change in the character of the village,' being 'in excess of the need for affordable housing in Llangwm and nearby villages,' and 'likely anti-social behaviour associated with the development,'.
Concerns also raised on the impact the development would have on water quality from the increased foul water draining demands of the scheme.
Delegated approval to the council's head of planning was granted, subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement which includes financial contributions to mitigate the impact of development on local schools Cleddau Reach VC and Haverfordwest High VC, with an agreement reached in April including an agreed £10,000 contribution towards bus stop provision.
Since then, fresh calls – in the form of four separate applications – have been made to vary some of the conditions in the initial approval, including a condition to submit a Construction & Environment Management Plan (CEMP), which the applicants now say has been prepared, a call to discharge an access details condition, a landscape condition, and a drainage condition.
The four applications will be considered by county planners at a later date.
Pictured above:
An artist impression of the proposals at The Kilns, Llangwm. Picture: Evans Banks Planning Limited. (Image: Evans Banks Planning Limited)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Powys County Times
9 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Industrial estate with 13 business units planned in Powys
PLANS for a mini industrial estate that could boost the local economy in the south western tip of the county have been lodged with Powys council planners. The application for by Mr and Mrs Evans is to set up 13 commercial storage and light industrial yard compounds which would help 'small business development' at land off the former Haul road west of Brynygroes, in Ystradgynlais. The scheme would also see compound security fencing, access gates for each of the units. The site is near a development of 110 houses which are currently being built at Brynygroes. Planning agent Richard Banks of Evans Banks Planning Limited explained the proposal in a planning statement. Mr Banks said: 'The site is capable of delivering 13 small / modest commercial plots suitable for low-level starter and small businesses in search of a small compound to store plant and machinery or to provide storage and distribution. 'The proposals would be seen as utilising the existing haul road for all access in very much the same manner as the former opencast site would have regularly required HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicles) access to and from that development. 'Multiple daily lorry movements to the opencast site were commonplace.' Mr Banks explains that the applicants know that there is a demand in the area for these types of units. He said: 'The applicants have experienced such small business demand for modest storage and light industrial space at their facility at Woodlands Business Park at Ystradgynlais. 'A total of 210 storage containers have been placed on plots three and six at the business park, and the take-up and demand for that new storage facility has been overwhelming. 'The applicants are of the firm opinion that a uniformly laid out series of small commercial compounds at the Haul Road site would provide for small business to have a modest base at Ystradgynlais to store vehicles, plant or other commercial equipment.' Mr Banks adds that the applicants have already discussed the proposal with county planners last year and said that they 'broadly support' the principle of such development. Mr Banks said: 'The development of the site will ensure a deliverable source of future employment land for the Ystradgynlais growth area in which it lies, which has seen an under supply of commercial opportunities prior to and since the adoption of the current LDP (Local Development Plan). 'The development of the site will help to redress this imbalance.' A decision on the application is expected by July 31.

Leader Live
11 hours ago
- Leader Live
Planning committee urged to reject 300-home Hawarden plan
Flintshire People's Voice councillor Sam Swash - who represents the Hawarden Mancot ward - has supported residents' campaigning against plans to develop on agricultural land at Ash Lane off Gladstone Way for six years. With Flintshire County Council planning officers recommending approval of the scheme this week, Cllr Swash has asked councillors to back Hawarden residents who have opposed the plans since they were first proposed. "This is the most unpopular housing development in Flintshire's history," said Cllr Swash. "It has led to the largest petition ever submitted to Flintshire County Council, hundreds of placards being erected across the local community and the most objections to a single planning application in the county's recent history." Read more: 300-home Ash Lane, Hawarden development backed for approval Opposition to developing the land began in 2019 when the agricultural fields between Gladstone Way, Ash Lane and Park Avenue on the Hawarden/Mancot border were first included in Flintshire's Local Development Plan. Opponents quickly formed an action group - Stop the Gladstone Estate Development - and a Facebook page to oppose the plans. The land - now owned by Castle Green Homes - continued to be earmarked for development in the county's 2015 Local Development Plan. In March last year the application was submitted to Flintshire County Council's planning department to build 300 homes - including 104 affordable homes - on the site. Of 697 neighbours notified of the plans during consultation, 684 objected to the plans. There were also objections from Hawarden Community Council and Queensferry Community Council with regard the impact on flood risk on the proposed site and the surrounding areas and the pressure the development would place on local services, while Clwyd Badger Group were concerned about the impact on badgers active near the site. Nevertheless officers have recommended approval of the scheme, subject to a Section 106 order which would see Hawarden Village School receive just over £625,000 to make improvements to serve the new estate while Hawarden High School would receive almost £950,000. Cllr Swash believes the weight of local opposition means councillors on Flintshire's Planning Committee should refuse the application when it is considered on Wednesday at Flintshire Council's Ty Dewi Sant headquarters. "For those councillors with a vote on Wednesday, there is no more hiding behind the Local Development Plan," he said. "They must now judge this site on its own merits, or lack of them. "The choice facing them is a simple one - they can vote to stand with the people they're elected to represent, or they can vote to approve a demonstrably reckless plan for the benefit of private housing developers. "The Hawarden community has been completely united in its opposition to these plans for years, and with good reason. This is the council's final opportunity to restore our community's trust in local democracy, by listening to the overwhelming views of the people this development will impact on a daily basis."


The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Sydney's second airport is nearly built. But will the airlines and people come?
It has been talked about for decades, and a year and a half out from its opening, Western Sydney International is looking more and more like an airport. This week, press gathered to mark the completion of its runway. Built 1 metre deep with a range of materials including a base layer of crushed sandstone salvaged from road tunnelling projects in Sydney; a section of 140,000 tonnes of asphalt above it; and 73,000 cubic metres of concrete paving, the 3.7km runway is strong enough to accommodate A380 and Boeing 747-8 jumbos. Meanwhile, its freshly built terminal looks futuristic, a building with rows of aerobridges that extend on to the tarmac, ready for the planes that will one day fly millions of passengers. Driving up to the building, there are already signs to the arrivals and departures area. However, there's plenty still to be done. While ride-share pickup points have been established, getting an Uber to the terminal is impossible, in large part because roads haven't been named yet. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The existing roads to the airport via the town of Luddenham feel semi-rural, passing homesteads, paddocks and plenty of cows, before the environment quickly shifts to hi-vis and fresh asphalt of roads not yet recognised on Google Maps. But for now, it's just construction workers who have learned the daily commute travelling to the airport. Perfecting the experience of driving to the airport 44km west of Sydney's eastern CBD will be crucial – the airport is scheduled to open in December 2026, before the dedicated Metro rail link, which has been delayed, potentially until up to a year later. It's one of many of the logistical hurdles the government-owned airport faces on its home stretch, before bringing 24-hour commercial aviation to Sydney and shaking up a core dynamic that has hamstrung Australian aviation. Standing on the freshly-laid runway, the airport CEO Simon Hickey this week said most of the construction of the airport itself had now been completed. Western Sydney International was on budget and on track to open by the end of 2026, he said. Most of the task ahead lies in bolstering roads on the so-called 'land side' – as opposed to the airfield – but most of the works will be filling out the rest of the airport precinct, which includes a business park, cargo area and the broader Bradfield city being planned by government authorities. One thing that does not need to be built is an air traffic control tower. The airport will be Australia's first operated as a 'digital aerodrome' – thanks to more than 20 high resolution cameras broadcasting the airport and immediate airspace in real time to a centralised control room off-site – as part of plans by Airservices Australia, the government body responsible for managing airspace. Some things, however, cannot be done remotely. Airservices – which is also tasked with providing specialist aviation firefighting services to all major airports – will soon build its fire station there. While major construction works are nearing completion, Hickey said efforts were shifting to a testing regime, which will include welcoming progressively larger aircraft, as well as drills mimicking everyday airport scenarios. These drills will canvass mundane occurrences, such as staff responding to deliberately staged incidents such as dropped suitcases or injuries, with hired-staff posing as travellers. The drills will also include crisis simulations, to stress test how the airport's infrastructure and staff respond to incidents such as security threats or cyber-attacks. The other crucial element will be securing airlines to fly to the airport. So far, Qantas, its budget carrier Jetstar, and Singapore Airlines have signed up. Hickey said the airline had been in discussion with more than 30 airlines. While more airlines are expected to announce services to WSI soon, Hickey this week was coy as to whether a lack of rail connection at the initial opening, and distance from central Sydney, was proving a sticking point in attempts to woo more global carriers. 'We've got great connectivity from day one,' Hickey said, talking up the M12 motorway which allows travel to Sydney's eastern CBD 'without going through one set of traffic lights'. '[There are] 2.5 million people in Western Sydney. It's one of the most vibrant communities in Australia. It's one of the fastest growing communities in Australia … So actually, airlines recognise that this is a great place to be with a great catchment,' Hickey said. In the early months of operating, operations are expected to be small, before gradually ramping up. Before the rail connection opens, many in the industry expect the airport to be mostly popular with western Sydney locals, especially those looking to avoid long trips and toll spends getting to the existing Kingsford Smith airport in Mascot. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The concept of a second major airport serving a large Australian city is relatively foreign, apart from south-east Queensland's array of airports serving Brisbane, the Gold Coast and north-east New South Wales. The closest model is Victoria's Avalon, for which tickets are sold as a Melbourne destination but which is in reality much closer to the city of Geelong. While Avalon is Melbourne's second busiest passenger airport, it resembles more of a regional operation, with roughly a dozen Jetstar services, mostly to Sydney, each day. On a recent trip to the airport, Guardian Australia observed multiple passengers puzzled by its small size, wondering whether they had in fact landed in Melbourne. Another in the arrivals hall frantically asked a Jetstar employee why they couldn't find their family – who had, it transpired, instead turned up to the larger Tullamarine airport about 50km away. 'It happens all the time,' the Jetstar worker later told Guardian Australia. Avalon's relative failure to grow into a major second airport has much to do with its origins, initially as a military airfield, then training base, and logistics hub run by Linfox. It began hosting passenger services with Jetstar in 2004, but repeated attempts to lure international airlines have not lasted. Conversely, western Sydney airport is being master planned as a primarily passenger airport with an accompanying CBD to serve an area already looking for alternatives to the long commute to the eastern part of the city. Additionally, the 24-hour operations at WSI are set to trigger a dramatic shake-up of Australian aviation. Currently, Sydney's existing Kingsford Smith airport is hamstrung by strict movement limits of 80 take offs and landings – known as slots – in any one hour, plus an 11pm-6am curfew, to curb noise pollution for residents. The scarcity of slots in Sydney, particularly in peak travel times, has been highlighted as a key barrier to new entrant airlines establishing a foothold to compete with Qantas group and Virgin. While its flight paths will be slightly tweaked at night, WSI will operate at all hours, with careful planning to ensure comparatively less noise for residents compared with the city's eastern airport. Many in the industry are hopeful that beyond allowing for cheaper and more convenient flights for those willing to travel during the night, less constrained slots could allow new airlines to form a base in Sydney and meaningfully compete with established carriers. 'Late-night departure capacity, for instance, could allow Singapore Airlines business travellers to finish a full day's work in Sydney, take an overnight flight and arrive in Singapore before their first morning meeting the very next day,' Hickey has said. Competition among airports over the prices they charge for access and retail rents could also drive prices lower for business which could flow on to customers, a dynamic seen in European countries where competition from secondary airports allow for more carriers and cheaper average air fares. WSI will initially operate with just one runway, capable of handling up to 10 million passengers a year, but with growth plans to allow for a second runway to be built. Tens of thousands of jobs will be directly or indirectly supported by the airport and precinct. There are plans for WSI to eventually become Sydney's biggest international airport, to handle more than 80 million annual passengers, similar to the load handled by London's Heathrow. However, in the short term, Sydney's Kingsford Smith is expected to remain dominant, with demand at Western Sydney to take time to form. This has been seen in Qantas's planning, with the airline confirming to Australian Aviation that when the airport opens it will operate services with QantasLink, its regional brand which has smaller aircraft. For now, Catherine King, the transport minister, is optimistic the airport will grow, not cannibalise, Sydney's air travel market, and help make western Sydney a destination instead of an appendage. 'Each [airport] will operate in their own markets. I'm sure they'll work competitively with and against each other as well,' King said.