Llandrinio 48 homes development approved

PLANS for 48 new homes  in Llandrinio have been given the green light by Powys county councillors.

But at the planning committee meeting on Thursday, April 28, the lack of a pedestrian crossing across the B4293 road that goes through the village was a concern for members.

The council itself had applied to build 24 affordable homes at land next to the Trawscoed housing estate to the south of the road.

A further 24 houses would be built at land next to the Orchard Croft housing estate to the north of the road.

At the meeting, principal planning officer Gemma Bufton said that a condition on the planning permission would also see 20 per cent of the houses built at the Orchard Croft site, designated as affordable homes.

This equates to five homes and means that potentially 29 of the 48 houses which are a mix of one, two and three-bedroom properties, would be affordable homes.

The report also noted that there are 213 applicants on the common housing register for Llandrinio and the surrounding area and that 117 of these would welcome accommodation in the village.

Ms Bufton  added that an “equipped” play area for the developments would be built near the Trawscoed site.

Cllr David Price said:

“Have we covered all the bases on the safety of youngsters from Orchard Croft going across the road and down to the play area near Trawscoed?

“Is there any consideration for a pedestrian crossing?”

Cllr Price believed that a crossing could be “planning gain” from the development.

Highways officer Simon Crew believed it would not be possible to get a pedestrian crossing conditioned as part of the planning permission, as most villagers live to the north of the road.

Mr Crew said:

“The number of pedestrian movements to the southern side of the carriageway isn’t huge.

“There are existing play facilities next to the village hall.”

He didn’t believe that adding a condition and expecting the developer to build a pedestrian crossing as part of the scheme could be defended at a planning appeal.

Cllr Jonathan Wilkinson said:

“I know the road well and travel it often. It’s a pretty busy road.

“I feel uncomfortable that we’re encouraging children to cross the road and not giving them the added protection of a designated crossing point.

“I have reservations about the lack of that provision knowing the amount of traffic on it.”

Mr Crew said:

“If there were issues they would have been raised by either the community council or residents.

“I would expect the area engineer to know of any issues.”

He added that the area traffic engineer had not suggested to him that there were any road crossing problems in Llandrinio.

After receiving this advice Cllr Wilkinson said he was prepared to second Cllr Huw Williams proposal to approve the plans.

The application was then approved unanimously.