Residents welcome planning veto (From Tivyside Advertiser)

Residents welcome planning veto

10:38am Monday 18th February 2013 in News

Residents in the north of Cardigan have welcomed refusal of planning permission for eight homes on a children’s play area which is the subject of an application for village green status.

A year ago housing association Tai Ceredigion proposed moving the playground on the Maesglas estate and reducing the space available to the community by half in order to develop new homes for local people. The housing association claimed it was waste ground.

Residents said the site was given to the community by the late Councillor Owen Owen as a children’s playground and had been in use for more than 50 years.

A 335-name petition was handed to the county council opposing the relocation and any development on the recreation area.

The proposal to build 12 houses was subsequently thrown out and the county council appointed a barrister to assess the application to register the site as a village green.

Tai Ceredigion objected to the village green move and submitted a new planning application for eight houses.

Cardigan Town Council opposed the latest proposal which has now been rejected by the county council’s planning department under delegated powers.

In letters to residents Environmental Services and Housing director Brian Thomas stated that the application did not demonstrate that provision of housing and relocation of the play area would give rise to enhanced open space provision.

He said the proposal would result in reduction in the existing open space and not meet the criteria of the Ceredigion UDP.

He added that the layout proposed would represent over-development of the site and fail to meet the amenity standard expected under the UDP.

Welcoming the decision local county councillor John Adams-Lewis; who is spearheading the campaign for village green status, said “It is high time Tai Ceredigion listened to the voice and needs of the local people before making these totally unreasonable applications.

“This play area has been in existence and in daily use for over 50 years and had this application succeeded it would have resulted in a substantial reduction in the existing open space provision without a comparable, equivalent enhancement provision.

“RAY Ceredigion Child’s Play Project considers the playground to be the safest in the county and Assembly Government police is to ensure all children have access to rich, stimulating environments in which to play freely,” he said.

The housing association has six months in which to lodge an appeal.