A controversial draft planning blueprint which would have paved the way for thousands of new homes to be built in Caerphilly County Borough is set to be scrapped, the leader of the council has confirmed.
There has been widespread opposition to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s draft Local Development Plan (LDP), which set out the potential for around 13,640 new homes to be built by the year 2031 – many on green spaces.
Approved in its initial stages by councillors back in February this year, the draft LDP was then put out to public consultation, with views gathered feeding into an independent report by a planning inspector. In total, 4,654 individuals and organisations responded with five petitions received objecting to a number of key proposals.
But now the draft LDP is set to be withdrawn before the planning inspector’s report is published and before the plan is formally adopted by the council.
Cllr Keith Reynolds, leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, said: “We are a listening council and we have always said that we would carefully consider all the feedback resulting from the public consultation. It is clear that many local people have significant concerns about some of the proposals within the LDP, therefore we need to reflect these views and reconsider a way forward.”
A report will be presented to a meeting of full council on Tuesday July 19 containing a recommendation that, subject to ministerial approval, the authority formally withdraws the LDP.
Caerphilly AM Dr Hefin David has been a critic of the current planning system, where individual councils each develop their own LDPs in isolation, and used his Welsh Assembly election campaign to push for the withdrawal of Caerphilly’s LDP.
Since his election in May, Dr David has been calling for more of a regional approach to development and used his first question in the Senedd to raise the issue.
In response, the Welsh Government called for councils to get together to develop a regional plan, and Dr David argued that was a strong basis for the LDP to be withdrawn.
Responding to the news that Caerphilly Council is set to withdraw its plan, Dr David said: “The public consultation process demonstrated considerable opposition to the proposals and so I am pleased that the council has recognised this and will now withdraw the plan.
“I have long argued for an alternative south east Wales strategic development plan (SDP) which would cover a much wider geographical area. This is why, as a councillor, I voted against the Caerphilly LDP in February. I also met with residents and discussed the issue with campaign groups. Housing demand must be met but in doing so, we must also consider connections across county borough boundaries, not just within them.”
Dr David said he wrote in June to Lesley Griffiths AM, the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, asking her to consider an alternative.
In her response, Ms Griffiths gave an indication that she would not stand in the way of Caerphilly Council’s current draft LDP from being withdrawn, suggesting that an LDP should be developed together with a regional plan.
She said: “I would encourage local authorities in South East Wales to commence work on an SDP at the earliest opportunity and, in the case of Caerphilly Council, prepare the LDP in parallel.”
Dr David added: “This letter gives Caerphilly Council the opportunity to lead the way in the preparation of a strategic development plan for South East Wales. They can now focus their local housing planning on creating a wider strategy and they have indicated that they will hold discussions with other local authorities.
“I said during the Assembly election campaign that we can and should be better at local planning and this is a vital step toward that kind of improvement.”
At next week’s council meeting, members will be asked permission for officers to seek discussions with Welsh Government and other local authorities in the Cardiff Capital Region to develop a regional plan.
Cllr Reynolds added: “We now want to play a lead role in discussions about the development of a more strategic approach to planning, so that we can appreciate the ‘bigger picture’ in terms of housing demand, strategic employment sites and supporting transport infrastructure.
As part of the public consultation, the Welsh Government submitted its views on the draft LDP and said it had fundamental concerns over it.
One of the criticisms was the 13,640 new homes earmarked – around 6,750 more than the Welsh Government estimate.
Prior to Cllr Reynolds’ announcement, Caerphilly Council’s Plaid Cymru group and Plaid Cymru’s South Wales East AM Steffan Lewis had called for the draft LDP to be scrapped.
Plaid Cymru group leader Cllr Colin Mann said: “Too many houses would put a real strain on roads and services, like schools and GPs. We should be protecting our precious green fields, not planning to build over them.
“We also need a proper explanation from officers as to the huge difference between figures quoted previously for the number of houses needed and the latest thoughts from the inspectorate.”
Good news but people need to continue to be vigilant. Housebuilders are a very powerful lobby group and they have great patience. If you want to preserve our farmland and woodland for future generations keep a close watch on what the politicians are doing.
Just to clarify, Strategic Development Plans as set out in the Planning Act (Wales) do not replace Local Development Plans, which remain mandatory. So, Caerphilly will have to have an LDP, although maybe revised.
I bet they will now Hefin David has got his teeth into it, the Minister has agreed and it Appears Caerphilly Council Labour Leader Kieth Reynolds is leading the Councils agreement to Hefin Davids Proposals with other local authorities in the region,
All change me thinks?.
As these are, as you say Mandatory, it is a great pity that Planning officers of Caerphilly council got it SO wrong, one would have hoped they have enough professional ability between them to have first of all, applied by the Welsh Assemby mandatory Rules, and not re-written them and DOUBLED the number of prospective building sites sought by the Welsh Assembly in the Borough.and secondly, planning officers should have avoided the grotesque congratulatory backslapping incident one saw at the end of the meeting when they were congratulating the lead officer for getting through a FLAWED plan, disgraceful as it turns out.