Burry Port planning permission extended

PLANNING permission for flats, restaurants and commercial units at sites in Burry Port has been extended.

The outline plans approved at the end of 2015 centred on two council-owned sites either side of the Southern Distributor Road, and are part of a wider regeneration strategy for the seaside town.

The deadline for putting in detailed schemes for both plots has now been extended by three years by the council’s planning committee.

One of the sites, which contains remnants of the Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal and is just east of East Dock, is earmarked for a mix of retail, residential, hotel and pub uses.

The 1.2-hectare site is currently grass, shrubs and trees.

The second, larger site – adjacent to Silver Terrace – has been dubbed Enterprise Village and would comprise units for creative and media organisations, plus some flats, a central courtyard and green spaces.

It used to be home to lead and silver works.

Speaking at the planning committee meeting, senior development management officer John Thomas said: “There are no material changes from 2015.”

He said a council ecologist was providing an update for both sites to Natural Resources Wales, but that environmental impact assessments were not deemed necessary.

The planning committee voted to extend planning permission with no debate.

The two sites form part of a wider masterplan for Burry Port, which has had £18m spent on the Southern Distributor Road and various harbour and marina improvements.

In addition, a 330-place primary school has been built next to the Enterprise Village site.

And in December last year, Carmarthenshire’s executive board decided to buy the nearby Grillo site for £2m. Board members were told the privately-owned land in question was unlikely to be brought forward for commercial and housing development in the near future without intervention.