POWYS: afforable home is in open countryside near Arddleen

On Thursday, February 7, Powys County Council’s planning committee will be looking at the application  to build at land next to Hendre View, Penrhos.

The application is a resubmission and the plans were turned down in May 2018.

“The crux of the matter being that the adoption of the Local Development Plan (LDP) altered the council’s position on developments within rural settlements, and specifically what constitutes a rural settlement,” says the report.

Before April 2018 rural settlements were named within the plan – but since the LDP adoption last year there is a “criteria based approach”.

In the report case officer, Louise Evans says: “With regards the principle of development, the root of the matter relates to whether Penrhos constitutes a rural settlement for the purpose of the LDP.

“Rural settlements are not listed but must be historically recognised/named settlements and contain at least 10 closely grouped dwellings, the count of which shall not include farmhouses, rural conversions or dwellings originally granted under exception policies – such as affordable dwellings and rural enterprise dwellings.

“The settlement of Penrhos is dispersed in character with essentially three clusters of properties.

“Between the clusters there are gaps of around 100 metres and in the opinion of officers, these gaps of are large enough that the test proximity is not met.”

Ms Evans continues: “It is for this reason that Penrhos does not constitute a rural settlement for the purpose of the LDP and that the proposed site is located in the open countryside.”

“Overall, the LDP seeks to promote sustainable development through its strategic settlement hierarchy and to ensure the open countryside , as a finite resource, is protected from uncontrolled  and unsustainable development.”

Ms Evans finishes her report recommending that the site is not within a rural settlement and recommends refusing the application.