Go-ahead for homes plan as inspector overrules council

CONTROVERSIAL housing plans near a Merthyr Tydfil cancer centre have been approved on appeal after full council previously rejected them.

Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association’s proposal for 10 houses in Dowlais, near the Cancer Aid Centre, will now go ahead after the planning inspector overruled the council’s decision to refuse the plans.

The developer was also successful in its bid for costs of the appeal against the council following the decision but the amount is yet to be decided.

More than 60 letters of objection were sent to the council and a petition signed by 800 people was submitted objecting to the plans – mainly because of the effect it could have on the privacy and tranquillity that patients with cancer currently get.

But the planning inspector, having considered evidence from councillors, Cancer Aid, its supporters and residents, Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association and council officers, recognised the principle of residential development on the site had already been established.

The plan for land at East Street and Upper Union Street first went before planning committee on February 6, then came back to committee on March 13 and again on March 21. But the committee decided to refer the application to full council because of the “complex and difficult nature of the development”.

On April 17 full council decided to refuse the application because of the impact on patients of Cancer Aid, the effect on the character and appearance of Dowlais Conservation Area, drainage concerns and the effect on road safety in terms of visibility and the width of the road.

In deciding to approve the application the inspector said: “I consider that the concerns raised have been addressed by amendments to the proposal and mitigation that can be secured by conditions.

“I agree with the council’s officers who concluded that the temporary negative impact during the construction period would be outweighed by the benefits of the proposal in terms of meeting the need for affordable housing in the council area.”