PLANS for a Ceredigion housing development including affordable units at the site of a former village market have been refused by council officers.
In an application to Ceredigion County Council, David and Alison Wright sought permission for a development of five homes, including two affordable, on land next to the Black Lion, Llanrhystud.
The proposed housing mix includes two two-bed affordable bungalows, one three-bed house and two four-bed houses.
A supporting statement through agent Morgan & Flynn Architectural Services said: “The site is located adjacent to the settlement boundary and more importantly has been used over the years as a market site. The site has consent to be used for 18 days per year as a market. On market days you would have up to 300 vehicles per day (circa 1,000 visitors) and the market would run between 7am and 2pm on a Monday which was then moved to a Saturday in the latter years.
“Whilst markets have ceased to be held on the land since Covid, a lawful use remains. In addition to markets the land was also used for parking for the pub, weddings and funerals, dog shows, vintage shows and the Llanrhystud annual carnival.”
It details the proposed development: “The indicative layout demonstrates that the site can accommodate five dwellings to include two affordable dwellings, public open space, passing place along the adjacent road, and an improved access onto the A487 at land adjacent to the Black Lion, Llanrhystud, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion. The existing access has served the site throughout living memory and a market on the site for 18 days per year since the 1980s along with other occasional uses.”
It says the scheme would address “a significant shortfall of housing delivery within Llanrhystud as a Rural Service Centre and the proposal will make an important contribution towards meeting the housing requirement providing a mix of housing.”
An officer report, recommending refusal, says numerous applications have been submitted to develop the land for a residential development dating back to 2006, however all were either refused or withdrawn.
It says the principle of open-market dwellings at the location is not acceptable on planning policy, saying “rural housing exception sites should be solely (100 per cent) for affordable housing and on land within or adjoining existing rural settlements,” adding no Section 106 legal agreement has been signed to secure the units as affordable in perpetuity, and the affordable units, at 137 square metres, are “overly large or substantial,” policy being for a 70 sqm rate.
It also says the development “would be incongruous when viewed in the context of the modestly sized terraced housing typically found within and adjacent to the historic core of Llanrhystud,” and “would result in inappropriate ribboning from the settlement and result in an incursion into the open countryside.”
Concerns were also raised it would “detrimentally impact the setting of the Grade-II-listed St Rhystud Church, and the Llanrhystud Conservation Area”.
The application was refused on grounds including those outlined in the officer report.
