Plans for almost 300 houses on the site of the former Aberdare General Hospital site have been approved. Proposals for 299 homes on the site on Abernant Road in Abernant were given the go-ahead by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s planning committee on Thursday, February 23.
The site is made up of 17 hectares of land which was previously the site and grounds of Aberdare Hospital, of which two hectares are previously developed land. The site is on the north western side of Abernant Road and north east of the river between Abernant and Robertstown on the lower eastern slopes of the Cynon Valley.
The planning report said that although it was very much part of Abernant, the site was close to the centre of Aberdare and would benefit from the amenities such as shops, pubs, schools, sport centre and the transport hub. The area of woodland and a field on the site are designated a site of interest for natural conservation (SINC) under the council's local development plan, and there are a number of group tree preservation orders. The report added that some of the land is in a high coal risk area and there is archaeological importance to the site, some of which is vulnerable to low risk flooding.
Read more: Plans for 52-room hotel above Cardiff Market get green light
Access for vehicles to the site is currently gained from the original hospital access from Abernant Road and proposals to improve that have previously been approved. The proposal from WDL Homes is that the entire development be served by a single means of access from Abernant Road in the form of a spine road that will track in a broadly northerly direction through the site.
The remainder of the development will be served from a series of loop roads and cul de sacs (adopted and private) formed from the spine road. The proposal involves keeping as much as possible of the woodland fringes around the site at its entrance and around its fringes.
There were initially 21 letters of objection and comment relating to the application but after more details were submitted in December 2022, another round of public consultation was done which resulted in seven more submissions. Concerns raised included planning policy issues, local housing market assessment and need issues, highways issues, infrastructure issues, trees and ecology concerns, amenity issues, health issues and design issues.
Some of these included whether the development met the identified housing need in the area, that the houses along with other developments will “swamp” Abernant and the highway system will not be able to cope, increased risk to pedestrians and concerns over the access. They also said infrastructure issues had not been addressed clearly, that there will need to be extra places at Abernant Primary School and that the new houses will exacerbate the flood risk.
They also highlighted the presence of a SINC, raised concerns about the impact on protected species and trees and said the development would have an adverse environmental impact in relation to habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, air and noise pollution. They said that an increase in car movements presented an air pollution problem and was likely to adversely affect air quality in the area, and there were also concerns over noise pollution from the development and over how close it will be to existing properties on Abernant Road.
But planning officers recommended that the committee approved the application and they said in the planning report that the application was considered acceptable in principle. They said that though the site is allocated for considerably more than the amount of houses currently proposed, the constraints the site faces in terms of ground conditions, ecology and highway requirements are substantial and justify fewer numbers of houses coming forward.
They said that impacts on the character and appearance of the area and on the privacy and amenity of the wider community were considered acceptable. They added: “Sufficient detail has been provided to conclude that the impact of the proposals on the ecology of the area and trees in particular can be managed through the development process to the point where the obligation to preserve and enhance such features will be met.
“The proposals present no insuperable problems with regard to local infrastructure and broad design issues associated with the development are satisfactory. The impact on health in terms of the issues raised by objectors are adequately addressed. By far the greatest concern, as far as local residents are concerned, has been the impact of the proposals on the local highway network. The proposals have been subject to extensive independent interrogation of the transport assessment and other supplementary submissions and highways development control have concluded that the details are acceptable in terms of their impact on the highway network."
Planners pointed to the previous use of the site as hospital, as well as trip reduction applied to social rented homes, the sustainable location of the site in terms of proximity to public transport and Aberdare town centre, impact improvements proposed to active travel links between the development and Aberdare town centre, increased opportunities for residents to work from home, the impact of the transport implementation strategy and Welsh Government policy and initiatives to address climate change.
Local councillors Steven Bradwick and Victoria Dunn of Aberdare East spoke against the application. Cllr Bradwick raised concerns over highways issues and trees saying he wanted a condition that no deliveries will take place at certain times of the day because of the school and hoped a management plan for the trees can be put in place. He also said he hopes none of the dropped kerbs would be removed and said there were no electric vehicle charging points included.
Cllr Dunn said she was pleased the site is being redeveloped by a local developer with a good reputation but that she didn't support it in its current form, adding that she was disappointed that little attention had been given to the housing needs of local people.
Cllr Dunn also had concerns about how Abernant and the surrounding roads will be affected by increased traffic, but committee member Councillor Gareth Hughes said he was yet to see an application of such a size in such a sustainable location and that there would be an economic benefit for the town. He said given its previous use as a hospital that traffic movements would be similar. Fellow committee member Councillor Mike Powell called for a site visit on highways grounds and the visual impact but this was unsuccessful.
The Section 106 contributions required from the developer would be the provision of 10% affordable housing through the development, a financial contribution of £954,371 for education, a long term management plan for play areas, areas of public open space on the site, the agreement of a long term habitat and species mitigation, enhancement and compensation management plan for the ecologically sensitive areas of the site, the agreement of an Employment Skills Training Plan, a payment of £75,000 towards active travel improvements and the agreement of a £500,000 Travel Plan bond.
To get the latest email updates from WalesOnline click here https://www.walesonline.co.uk/newsletter-preference-centre/
READ NEXT:
