Housing plans could “choke the life” out of town say residents of Cowbridge, Glamorgan

RESIDENTS fear that plans to build more than 100 homes in their town could result in “choking the life” out of it.

A number of people living in Cowbridge have voiced their opposition to plans from Redrow to build 105 homes on land between Windmill Lane and St Athan Road.

Chief among the residents’ concerns are the potential visual impact the houses could have, with the surrounding area being in the Upper Thaw Valley – a Special Landscape Area – and the risks associated with the proposed entrance of the development on St Athan Road.

“We are firmly of the belief that it is a dangerous junction,” said one resident who wanted to remain anonymous.

A new agricultural entrance, which was a separate development, was built on the St Athan Road bend and includes crash barriers.

According to CrashMap, which uses data collated from the Department of Transport, there have been five reported crashes on this particular bend in the past 23 years.

The Cowbridge resident added: “It suggests to me and to all of us that the junction is intrinsically unsafe for access for 105 cars.
“There are going to be cars waiting in the middle of the road. The road is only about 2.4 metres-wide and people coming down aren’t going to see them.”

Another resident, Mike Higgins, said he thinks the proposed site is “far from ideal”.
Mike said: “It is a steep slope, it is poor access. The road on which the site is accessed is a very narrow road.

“Redrow cookie-cutter homes on a site that is bordering countryside. There is no thought of any impact.”
Cowbridge is already seeing another housing development getting underway with the Clare Garden Village currently in phase two of construction.

On the wider expansion of Cowbridge, Mike added: “If you add it all up, you are talking nearly 600 homes in a town that had 2,000 before. So, this is a 30% increase.
“It is just too much. The capacity of the town cannot deal with this. Parking is a joke. You can’t get down any of the feeder roads at the top of the town because of the cars parked everywhere.”

“This is choking the beauty and attractiveness out of the town.”

A design and access statement attached to the planning application for the 105 new homes says: “The proposed development falls within the settlement boundary of Cowbridge and will deliver the ‘Redrow Vision’ which is to create a better way for people to live by building beautiful homes efficiently, responsibly and sustainably and delivering a high-quality lifestyle by focusing on a superior product in fantastic places in which people want to live, work and enjoy.

A pre-application consultation report by RPS Group states: “A Transport Assessment (TA) and Travel Plan have been prepared in support of the application proposals in accordance with relevant advice and guidance.

“The TA has been scoped with the highway officers at the Vale of Glamorgan Council. The TA confirms that the proposed development is considered to be well located and is wholly compliant with both national and local transport policies.”

Redrow has been approached for a comment.
A spokesperson for the Vale of Glamorgan Council said notices will be placed on site on October 29 indicating that members of the public will have a further 21 days to share their views on the application.