PLANS for a drive through Starbucks coffee shop and electric vehicle charging hub on the border of Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) and Caerphilly have been officially rejected.
The plans were for land near HBH Land Rovers in Caerphilly Road, Nantgarw but were refused by the RCT planning committee on Thursday, March 20.
This application went before the committee on February 13 with planning officers recommending approval.
But at that meeting, members voted against the officer recommendation as they considered the proposed development would increase congestion in the vicinity of the site and that there was a lack of pedestrian facilities serving the location.
Further concern was raised that the development would result in the encroachment of built development in to green space, outside of settlement limits.
A decision was deferred for a report to be brought to committee highlighting the potential strengths and weaknesses of taking a decision against the officer recommendation.
And committee has now confirmed its decision to refuse the application because the proposed development would “result in increased congestion in the vicinity of the site, which would result in a detrimental impact upon highway and pedestrian safety along the A469 and upon the amenity of surrounding residential properties.”
Another reason was that “the application site is not well connected to the surrounding area in that there is a lack of pedestrian facilities connecting the site to the wider area. The proposed development would therefore not be accessible to the local and wider community by a range of sustainable modes of transport” with the third reason being that the proposed development “would be sited in an unsustainable location and outside settlement limits. The development would therefore result in encroachment of development on to green space, which would have a detrimental impact upon the special landscape area in which the site is set.”
