Plans for affordable housing near the Cardiff Airport train station have been given the go-ahead. The Vale of Glamorgan Council's planning committee met on Thursday, May 25, to approve final plans for the 15 homes off Heol Y Pentir in Rhoose.
Earmarked for the vacant plot of land adjacent to Rhoose's Cardiff International Airport train station car park, the development will consist of nine two to three-bedroom houses to the north of the site and a block of six single-bedroom apartments to the south. Some councillors have expressed concerns over the potential aesthetic quality of the housing, with one member of the committee, Cllr Anthony Ernset, saying: "I thought we were striving to obtain a higher standard of development, particularly in the rural parts of the Vale as well.
"I am interested to hear that there is a condition in there which maybe we could insist on materials that make the building look a little bit more exciting. I find it disappointing in 2023 that we are putting up fairly bland standard blocks with a door and a window just like kids draw at school." In response to this, Vale of Glamorgan Council planning officer, Ian Robinson said: "The standard of construction, I have confidence, will be very high. You can get more Cardiff news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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He added: "It is an affordable housing scheme and there are really rigorous standards that apply to the construction of those houses. With affordable housing there is always a budget and that can result in fairly simple schemes. For me, that is why materials are important. You can actually have fairly simple builds in terms of design if you use good quality materials.
"Little detailing like how far the windows are recessed and things like that, you can actually get quite a successful scheme. Good materials on a simple design is probably better than an overly fussy design for the sake of it." An outline planning application for the homes had already been approved by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
However, the application being brought before the planning committee last week looked at the reserved matters of the scheme. These are the finer details of the proposal, like its scale, the potential impact on amenities, access and parking, flood risk, ecological impacts and noise. The approval by the planning committee effectively rubberstamps the development and will now allow it to go ahead.
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