1,200 join in fight to stop development
VILLAGERS battling moves to build houses on fields surrounding their homes have inundated council chiefs with more than 1,200 letters of complaint in just three weeks.
Anger over the new Local Development Plan (LDP) covering Neath, Port Talbot and the Swansea Valley is spreading countywide.
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Melanie Davies, Sandra Thompson, Ivor Williams, Mike Davies and Anthony Harland of the Rhos Alltwen Gellinudd Environment group hand over 1,219 protest letters to head of planning Geoff White and cabinet member for economic development and estates David Lewis. GM260809A001
Public meetings are being called and petitions launched as shocked residents find out that everything from new housing to mines could spring up in fields and green wedges right on their doorsteps.
As part of the LDP process, imposed by the Assembly, anyone can nominate land for development.
Neath Port Talbot has ended up with 424 of these so-called candidate sites being proposed, although not all will make the final cut.
The authority will have to assess all of them and announce which of the 424 it feels should be included when the draft LDP goes out for consultation in late 2011.
But residents are not waiting until then and are making their feelings clear now.
The RAGE - Rhos, Alltwen and Gellinudd Environment group - have already held two public meetings after discovering some candidate sites are in an existing green wedge.
Group members have now handed over 1,209 letters of objection to council planning chief Geoff White.
"These letters have been collected in just three weeks, which shows the strength of feeling," said group spokesman Mike Davies.
"Our biggest beef is that the LDP was not properly publicised, no matter what the council says.
"We only found out about it when notices started going up on the sites, and even then they were very small."
Public meetings have already taken place around the county, including in Cimla and Bryn.
Now Tonna has entered the fray after candidate sites for housing and holiday accommodation were proposed.
A petition started by resident Andrew Hunt is available in Tonna Post Office and has already been signed by scores of people.
"The school will be under a lot of pressure if all these houses are built," said Mr Hunt.
"It would also create problems with traffic, particularly in Llantwit Road.
"That's bad enough now, but I don't know how it would cope with so much extra traffic."
Neath Port Talbot has denied the LDP was poorly advertised, but has agreed to consider responses after the deadline, which was yesterday.
3 Comments
by A, Neath, Wales
Saturday, September 05 2009, 3:32AM
“Why do we allow LDP and developers to just cherry pick their developments?
Why not force developers to include new schools, new shopping areas, new community facilities, new infrastructure in their developments instead of just picking the new homes which only put undue burden on existing facilities?
And what is happening to the all singing, all dancing Coed Darcy development?”
by Councillor D J Sparkes, neath
Wednesday, September 02 2009, 11:17PM
“Regarding the comment by Councillor Linet Purcell that the people and councillors of the cimla ward are unaware of the new Local Develoment Plan and have taken no action.(Have Your Say Wednesday 2nd September 2009).An excepionally well attened public meeting was held at the Cimla Community Centre on the 21 first of August 2009 and was attended by both ward Councillors.I believe the residends group formed in the Cimla has also registered as a focus group with the Council so the people of the Cimla are far in advance Councillor Purcell and Pontardawe not not behind as she implies.Of course Councillor Purcell should have had early warning of this development as it is her Party Plaid who have imposed this process on Local Authorities through the Assembly Government.”
by byron, neath
Tuesday, September 01 2009, 10:25AM
“I have already stated in an earlier E-Mail that the proposed extension of building at Cimla is obscene as the traffic flow on cimla road is unable to cope especially at rush hour, with the chidrens crossing 100 yards from the traffic lights at the junction with eastland rd, motorist try to avoid these hold ups by cutting through Ena ave, rugby ave, beechwood rd and other streets trying to avoid these hold-ups.”