A PLANNING application recommended for approval was deferred for a site visit at a meeting of Carmarthenshire County Council’s Planning Committee on Thursday, December 8.
The application for the installation and operation of a solar farm at Tycroes received no objections from the South Wales Trunk Road Agency (SWTRA), but its stance was greeted with incredulity by members who knew the road in question and the history of past planning applications relating to it.
Cllr Calum Higgins, addressing the Committee as the local member, reported that both local residents and the Community Councils had expressed reservations about the proposed scheme, not least because of the visual impact of the scheme and its location in a green area of the village traversed by a public footpath.
It was, however, the issue of traffic with which Cllr Higgins was particularly concerned. Pointing out the presence of a blind summit, a fast road, a nearby rat run to a housing development, and the fact that the site was on a stretch of road where the speed limit rose from 40mph to 60mph, he expressed disbelief that SWTRA had raised no objections to the development.
Speaking from local knowledge and knowledge gained as a member of the council for the last four years, Cllr Higgins pointed out that SWTRA had a record of objecting to developments for housing on the same stretch of road for exactly the sort of concerns being expressed by Tycroes residents.
Cllr Higgins expressed the view that SWTRA’s stance, at least in terms of consistency of approach, was ‘very surprising’ and ‘out of character’.
Cllr Higgins also expressed concerns that the application might be ‘a gateway’ for a larger development. Noting the history of planning applications on the site, he noted that the original application was for a far larger development and that documents submitted with that application suggested that a larger size solar installation was required on grounds of cost-efficiency. Cllr Higgins wondered, therefore, whether the plans before the Committee were economically viable or cost-effective in the long term. In light of those concerns, he suggested to the Committee that were it minded to approve the application, it might want to take a preventative approach to future development of the site by placing an absolute restriction on expanding its scope in the future.
He concluded to point out that, such was the development’s now reduced scope, there was no positive impact for local job creation with it.
Cllr Kevin Madge followed his Labour colleague’s lead by moving that a site visit take place. While councillors were broadly supportive of conducting a site visit, Cllr Winston Lemon observed that it was only during the construction of the solar array that there would be an issue with traffic and that visiting the site at this point would tell Committee members nothing about any long term traffic to and from the Pontarddulais Road site. He suggested that, in the circumstances, a site visit would be a waste of time. The issues of the road were well-known to all members.
Supporting Kevin Madge’s proposal, Cllr Anthony Jones said that while he was usually averse to site visits, he felt that local circumstances meant that such a move was desirable. Cllr Ryan Bartlett endorsed that view, which was also endorsed by Cllr Terry Davies.
Planning Committee Chair Alun Lenny put the proposal for a site visit to the Planning Committee, and the motion was passed with two votes against and two abstentions.
The application will be considered at a future planning meeting, after Committee members have visited Tycroes.
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