Planning - Vounog Hill

Vounog Hill Appeal update (20/01/2020)

Dear Residents,

Firstly, thank you to all who contacted the planning Inspector last week where a real show of strength was demonstrated in getting the deadline for responses to the Vounog Hill appeal changed. The Inspectorate has now advised the following.

The new deadline for submitting representations is now 3rd February 2020. The deadline for all final comments will be 17th February 2020. These deadlines will also be visible on the online portal here; https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3240671.

I do not really know what is meant by final comments deadline of the 17th, so my advice is for anybody who has not yet sent a response, to do so before 3rd February. This is an important appeal for us to battle all the way and make sure we are not walked over yet again by developers who show little if any regard for local communities.

If you have sent a response, brilliant, if not, please do so by sending all your views to the Inspector by following the guidance below. Please also circulate and canvass anybody you know to put their objections in as well.

Re. Town & Country Plannng Act, 1990 - Section 78 Appeal

Planing ref. 060319

Appeal Reference Number: APP/A6835/A/19/3240671

Proposed: Outline application for residential development - Land East of Vounog Hill, Pen-y-ffordd.

Send to.

The Planning Inspectorate, Crown Buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff. CF10 3NQ

We also need to put pressure on Welsh Governments Minister for Planning, Julie James and first Minister Mark Drakeford, so if you have time and the inclination, please send your views to them at.

Julie James at Correspondence.Julie.James@gov.wales

and Mark Drakeford at PS.FirstMinister@gov.wales

Jack Sergeant who is our AM who rarely responds to correspondence personally also needs to be put under pressure, as does Mark Tami our MP, so please feel free to send them your views.

We hope this information is helpful to you and that you will support our efforts to stop this disgraceful application, thank you for your involvement, and please contact David Williams if you need any help submitting a representation.

David Williams and Pen-y-ffordd Community Council

An appeal has been submitted for this application for 37 houses on agricultural land off Vounog Hill / Min Y Ddol. Up until the 16th December it is possible to submit fresh objections to the scheme.

You can re-submit your previous objectives or update them with current knowledge of issues being experienced in the village.

The most significant objections to this development are:

outside the settlement boundary
working farmland
excursion into open countryside
impact on the landscape and appearance of the community
concerns over cumulative harm to infrastructure including drains, internet and water pressure
Mixture of houses being predominantly 4-bed homes, not affordable for the in-migration of existing residents and not satisfying actual housing need. These types of houses are already being built in 3 other locations in the village
Impact on community cohesion - rapid growth is not yet complete and the influx of new residents have not yet had time to integrate into the community. The sense of community will be lost forever if the growth is not curtailed
Premature in respect of the advanced Flintshire Local Development Plan which does not allow for this site or any others in this settlement
Three developments in Penyffordd have been approved on appeal, contra to the recommendations and decisions of the Local Planning Authority, none of which are yet completed. Time is needed to fully understand and manage the impact of these decisions.
Flooding. The field is known to suffer water logging. This surface water is likely to be displaced causing harm to other residents who already suffer regular flooding.
Loss of amenity. For generations this hill has been where children and families gather to go sledging in the snow - there is no alternative hill in the community. The current tenant farmer and generations before him have welcomed people into the field to enjoy this wonderful community activity - one of the rare chances for spontaneous community enjoyment. The loss of amenity would be significantly harmful to the current and future generations, but also the loss of faith in the planning system would be irrecoverable.

You need to submit comments directly to the Inspector and request a Public Inquiry

https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?CaseID=3240671&CoID=0

When you get to the page follow these instructions: