PLANS to turn a semi-detached house in a “unique, small residential” part of Cardiff have been approved despite residents’ concerns over the loss of family homes in the area.
A Labour councillor for Plasnweydd, Cllr Peter Wong, spoke against the proposal to turn the house on Timbers Square into multiple flats, claiming one of the units will provide “unacceptable living standards” due to its size.
The applicant argued there is a need for smaller flats in the proposed location and the design principles of the council were “carefully considered”.
Cardiff Council’s planning committee approved the plans, which will see the three-bedroom house turned into three self-contained flats, at a meeting on Thursday, September 4.
Speaking at the same meeting, Cllr Wong said he and residents understand the need for more homes in Cardiff, but added: “We believe that the loss of family homes in this area of Roath will have a detrimental affect on this community.
“We do consider this application… to be an incongruous development, out of keeping with the street.”
A resident who spoke in opposition to the plans at Thursday’s planning meeting said the flats proposal would “erode the character” of Timbers Square if it went ahead.
The minimum space standards Cardiff Council refers to when deciding planning applications for one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats are 35sqm and 45sqm respectively.
Cardiff Council’s report on the Timbers Square plans states the internal floor area for all three flats “comfortably satisfies the minimum requirements”.
Unit A of the development will be a 60sqm two-bedroom flat, unit B will be a 35.3sqm one-bedroom flat, and unit C will be a 70sqm two-bedroom flat.
Referring to the 33cm by which the one-bedroom flat meets the required minimum space standard, Cllr Wong said: “I honestly can’t see how you can describe 33cm as ‘comfortably’ meeting that minimum.
“You couldn’t even fit a stool in that space. At best it’s stretching the English language.”
Some planning committee members said they also felt uncomfortable with the proposal in front of them.
One planning committee member, Cllr Garry Hunt, said the size of one of the flats did “seem to be pushed to the very limits here”.
Council planners told planning committee members and those objecting to the proposal that there is no council planning policy which states a family home cannot be lost.
One planning officer, Owen Rees, argued there would technically be a net gain of two units which could be used for family accommodation.
A senior planner at Cardiff Council, Steve Ball, said he and his colleagues didn’t feel it would be possible to justify refusal of the plans on the grounds a family home would be lost or because of the size of the flats.
He added: “We have to assess against the standards we have and they [the flats] do meet those standards.”
Mr Ball added the planning policy Cardiff Council follows encourages a range and mix of homes, like one and two-bedroom flats.
