Meeting highlights development plan consultation

* Tuesday evening's meeting in progress.

Llangollen Friends of the Earth member Warren Davies has sent llanblogger this report of the group's meeting in St Collen's Church Hall on Tuesday evening to discuss the implications of the 11 "candidate" sites submitted for possible inclusion in Denbighshire's next Local Development Plan and local response to the consultation process, the deadline for which is August 31.

We had just over 40 local residents attend. 

Local county councillor Graham Timms, myself and a number of Friends of the Earth members also attended to help people respond to the consultation.

Our aim was to help people find relevant information, and find the best way to respond, whether on paper or online. 

Generally people found the Denbighshire County Council (DCC) documentation difficult to pick apart to find the relevant information. With help from ourselves, Graham and knowledgeable residents, we helped boost response numbers, helping people to have their say.

Regarding the candidate sites, there was dismay and confusion at the inclusion of the Youth Club and Youth Club field. Graham Timms was absolutely resolute in his determination to have this site removed from the list.

Strong concerns were also raised about all three of the sites near Maesmawr Road. Development scale, loss of agricultural land and traffic issues were frequently mentioned.

The Berwyn Works brownfield site was generally considered suitable for development so long as it was sympathetic.

Traffic and services were common concerns about the potential growth of the town.

Llangollen Friends of the Earth are concerned that the LDP should use the state of climate emergency to inform the LDP, and that currently it is hardly mentioned. 

Given the declaration of a climate and ecological emergency by the council, and the urgency of action required, the plan should take climate change concerns as a central pillar in any development plan.