Penllergaer housing estate is back for planning consideration

A LARGE housing estate which didn’t get built in Penllergaer, north of Swansea, is back before planning officers for consideration.

Taylor Wimpey secured outline consent for up to 200 homes from Swansea Council six years ago on the condition it signed a planning agreement relating to affordable housing, the provision of off-site drainage, and made a financial contribution towards education.

A planning statement by Barratt Homes, which has submitted the current application, said this agreement wasn’t signed as Taylor Wimpey didn’t want to proceed.

Barratt Homes proposes building 176 houses and four flats on the land, north of Llewellyn Road, which is 20 fewer than it had wanted. This followed pre-application advice from council officers.

The scheme would comprise a mix of one, two, three and four-bed properties with nine of the 180 defined as affordable. That’s fewer affordable units than should be provided in developments in north-west Swansea but Barratt Homes has pointed to financial constraints in the development of the site.

The planning statement said: “This level is considered to be appropriate, however this will need to be negotiated with the council during the determination of the application in an open and transparent manner, with full disclosure of the viability evidence relating to the site.”

The planning statement said the six-hectare estate would have a central play area, a “recreational green route” around the perimeter, new trees, and drainage areas planted with meadow flora. Boundary hedges would be retained as much as possible.

Vehicle, cycle, and pedestrian access is proposed from Mount Crescent and 501 car parking spaces are earmarked on site. The planning statement said a transport assessment on behalf of Barratt Homes concluded that the development”would have no material impact” on the wider road network.

The site would also provide access to an area of land to the west, which has an allocation of 50 homes under Swansea’s local development plan.

Penllergaer is set to expand, despite many objections, with up to 850 houses proposed on land between the A4240 Gorseinon Road and the A484 to the south. The first 184-home phase of this development has detailed planning permission.

One resident so far has objected to the Barratt Homes proposal. He lives on Mount Crescent and said he was worried about parking and the prospect of his cul-de-sac being turned into the access way in and out of the development.

“The inconvenience and stress this is going to cause is unbelievable and (it) could take around 10 years just to finish the development,” he said.