PERMISSION for two new houses to be built in a small Neath Port Talbot village has been denied by a council planning committee.
The proposals to build two new detached homes on land in Fforestgoch, Rhos, were brought before members for a decision in July, 2025.
They were recommended for refusal by officers because they were said to be “outside of the defined settlement limits and within the designated green wedge”.
Local ward members asked for them to be discussed by the committee as they felt the properties would be would be “in-keeping” with the current make-up of the hamlet.
They also asked for consideration of “unique, extenuating circumstances of the applicant ” who wanted to build the houses in support of a family member who had significant additional learning needs.
However, officers in attendance said the development constituted an “unjustified, undesirable and inappropriate form of development outside the existing settlement boundary”.
The report said: “The site lies between established residential dwellings situated to the north and south, which form part of a loose knit group of scattered dwellings that straddle either side of the A474. The nearest settlement boundary to the application site is the settlement of Rhos.”
It added: “The site has been the subject of eight previous applications for residential development all of which have been refused on rural protection policy grounds, three of which were subsequently dismissed at appeal for the same reasons.”
Following members’ questions and debate, officers said while they noted the personal circumstances they were not matters that could be considered outside of planning policy.
The proposal was later rejected after a vote of five members to four going in favour of the officers’ recommendation.
