The developer aiming to build new homes on the Vicarage Road
site in Llangollen has now put forward a number of amendments to the original
scheme which sparked a storm of protest from opponents in the area when it was
first announced.
Earlier this year Castlemead
Homes submitted an application to Denbighshire County Council for a development
of 99 dwellings comprising a mixture of two, three and four bedroom detached
and semi-detached properties.
But people in the area argued strongly
that local roads would not be able to cope with the extra traffic these would
generate both during construction and when the new homes were occupied.
Now, with the application expected to go before the planning
committee next month, the developers say there would be fewer homes than
originally suggested – 95 instead of 99 – and that if the scheme is given the
go-ahead they are prepared to build the access road before any homes are
constructed.
Its representative also says there would be cash
contributions for extra primary school provision in the area and also for improved
open space.
These revelations come in a letter from planning consultants
acting on behalf of Castlemead Homes to council chiefs, a copy of which has
been sent to a member of the local group campaigning against the scheme.
The letter says: “You have asked me for a resume of our
proposals following our various discussions over the past few weeks.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the proposal is now for 95
dwellings, plots 96 – 99 have been deleted from the proposals (although these
benefit from a separate permission).
“So far as other matters are concerned, in the event that
you resolve to grant permission, then our clients would be prepared to commit
to the following:
“Highways: We propose to construct the new road access prior
to the construction of any dwellings.
“The following matters would be covered in a Section106
Agreement:
“Education – An education contribution of £172,800, relating
to the expansion of primary school capacity in Llangollen, by means of either a
contribution to a new build school or extension(s) to existing facilities. The
contribution to be made prior to the occupation of the 51st dwelling.
“Open Space - Commuted sum of £1,818.28 payable prior to the
occupation of the first dwelling in the development, to be spent on the
improvement or provision of open space facilities in Llangollen
“Affordable Housing - Four dwellings provided on-site for
(plots 7, 8, 50, 51), together with a financial contribution of £47,074.50 in
relation to the residual requirement of an additional half a dwelling.”
County officers say they are anticipating that the application will be
presented to the planning committee on December 14.
Planning permission to
build 54 houses on land adjacent to Vicarage Road was granted to
Castlemead on appeal by Denbighshire back in 2001.
Attached to the original
application was a Section 106 agreement under which the developer was legally
bound to build a new access road to the site before the scheme was started.
The field above the main site has
since been included in the Local Development Plan at the request of the
Planning Inspectorate to encourage the building of more houses to meet local
demand.
Castlemead’s latest application,
submitted earlier this year, had been to build a further 45 homes, making a
total of 99 houses, on four parcels of land.
