A development of 250 new homes could be built in Hendredenny as Caerphilly County Borough Council decide whether to sell land.
Plaid Cymru councillors have alleged the Cabinet will agree to sell the land, claiming it would allow developer Redrow to build on the fields.
Penyrheol councillors Lindsay Whittle, Margaret Sargent and Steve Skivens ‘warned’ that representatives of a house-builder had been spotted surveying the land.
Cllr Whittle, who is also South Wales East AM said building should be encouraged to the north of the Caerphilly as “there are already too many homes in the town”.
He said: “This confirms our worst fears. Labour is preparing to sell off land to allow this development to go ahead.
“Residents at Ty Isaf, Caledfryn and Penyrheol would not only lose their rural views but have to put up with delays as extra traffic is generated.
“We must retain our green wedges whether possible and not see communities being joined up by development.”
A Labour group spokesman said concerns were not isolated to Plaid Cymru members and had been expressed by Labour councillor Huw Davies and the party’s Caerphilly MP, Wayne David, and Labour AM Jeff Cuthbert.
The spokesman said: “There is a report currently out to consultation with local members and stakeholders.
“Any points raised during the consultation will be carefully considered and reflected in a report due to be presented to Cabinet in the new year.”
But Plaid Cymru councillors alleged a decision had already been made by the council to sell the land.
Cllr Sargent said: “The Labour council says that Redrow will still have to apply for planning permission to build these 250 extra house.
“But why are they assisting them by giving the developers easy access to the site? This is a shameful decision.”
Cllr Skivens, who also chairs Penyrheol Community Council, said: “Despite the road improvement works at the Hendredenny roundabout and at Hendre, this scheme will increase traffic congestion.
“There is also just not the infrastructure capacity in place in terms of roads, sewerage and water supplies for a development of this size. Many of the local roads are operating well beyond their capacity.
“This scheme will further strangle our communities and it is not acceptable. We will be fighting hard to stop this development.”
A Redrow spokesperson refused to comment at this time.
I grew up in that area and can remember the days before Hendredenny Estate was built. Even after the building of houses there in the late 1960’s we enjoyed a semi rural lifestyle, with green spaces between the various housing developments. Children and teenagers played in the fields and woodland, learning about wildlife and farming from direct contact and enjoying a healthy outdoor life away from traffic, with all its dangers and toxic fumes.
It appers the council wants to turn the whole of the Caerffili basin into an urban area where children travel around in cars, never seeing wild rabbits, never hearing the voice of the Blackbird, never sitting in a sunlit meadow surrounded by grazing animals, never damming the Nant Y Aber to swim in the school holidays, never playing on a rope swing that they made themselves. In fact never doing anything apart from sitting at home or hanging around the streets, bored and looking for diversions such as inflicting damage to property.
I find this state of affairs very sad and our community wil pay dearly, in future, if we continue to put the interests of massive house building companies ahead of the well being of the people of Caerffili.
Oakdale and croespenmaen has been over developed especially behind oakdale garage the estate on all those lovely fields are a disgrace. No play grounds for children either. Shame on Caerphilly cbc!
Do the council think of the long-term. Will the extra council tax really cover schol expansion, hospitals, GP surgeries, road upkeep and construction, litter picking, street lighting, bin services etc… There are multiple hidden costs to building houses. At the moment Caerphilly does not have the infrastructure to support more houses.
Dean, today councils, like government, never think beyond the date of the next election. But of course you know this anyway.