A DECISION on plans to build 210 houses and flats at Llanelli’s North Dock has been deferred.
Carmarthenshire Council’s planning committee voted to visit the former Pontrillas factory site after hearing concerns about the scheme’s potential impact on the nearby Sandy Road roundabout.
Cllr Penny Edwards told fellow committee members that people in the area “have had hell” there over the last six months, with what she said were gas and water mains issues.
Cllr Edwards also said she wasn’t sure if proposed improvements to the Sandy Road roundabout were going to be carried out before the planned houses were built, or after.
“I think we need to have a site visit just to have look and see what’s going on there,” said Cllr Edwards, who represents Llanelli’s Hengoed ward.
The proposed housing site at the north-west corner of North Dock is 6.6 hectares. A section of it was home to the Pontrillas factory, which was demolished two years ago.
The outline plans, put forward by the county council, indicate a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses, and some three-storey flats. Access to the estate would be off Traeth Ffordd.
Concerns and objections have been submitted by Llanelli Town Council, Cllr Louvain Roberts and a member of the public.
A planning report which went before the committee said the Sandy Road roundabout was currently congested at peak times and would be “at, or near capacity” in 2023 – but that the impact of the 210 houses and flats on it would be negligible.
The report added: “As members may recall from considering the (Llanelli) Wellness Village application some months ago, the authority’s highways division is continuing to explore major scheme solutions for Sandy Roundabout and have a number of conceptual schemes to develop further.”
The report also considered ecological, flooding and heritage matters, among others.
Officers recommended approval of the outline plans, subject to conditions and financial contributions totalling £423,000, mainly for education.
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