A Pembroke Dock man’s plan to live off grid and off the land in north Pembrokeshire has been give the green light by councillors – but not all were supportive.
Stephen De Waine’s application for a one planet development (OPD) on land at Llanycefn outlines his plans to live sustainably on the site while meeting environmental policies included in Welsh Government policies.
Mr De Waine, a former fisherman, told Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee on October 4 that reducing his environmental impact was very important to him and his developement will include a cabin, workshop, wind turbine, compost shelter, solar panels, chicken coop, field shelter, six small polytunnels and compost toilet.
Flowers, fruits and vegetables will all be grown on site along with grazing areas and willow coppicing.
The application is partly in retrospect as some minor development relating to an access track had already commenced.
A OPD management plan has been prepared, a report to committee states, and Cllr Jamie Adams asked for assurance that there was capacity to ensure this, along with others recently approved, were monitored properly.
There was support for Mr De Waine’s plan apart from Cllr Michael Williams who said OPD was the “most fundamentally flawed piece of legislation on planning the Welsh Government has produced.”
He said it allowed people to “get round” the planning system and build in unspoilt landscapes.
Cllr Williams voted against the application “on principle” with other votes against from Cllr Adams and Cllr Aaron Carey.
There were 11 votes in favour of the application.
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