Pontgarreg homes decision to be decided next month

A proposal for four more homes in Pontgarreg will be decided next month following the submission of a last minute highway consultation report.

The application for two market value and two affordable homes had been recommend for refusal at the first development control committee held by Ceredigion County Council since lockdown.

A number of councillors expressed a desire to approve the application at the virtual meeting on July 8 to allow a local family remain in the area and for young people to return.

They were reminded that there were seven outstanding permissions in the village which would “give all the flexibility to allow people’s needs to be met” by  economy and regeneration corporate lead officer Russell Hughes-Pickering.

Llangrannog Community Council has objected to the plan, along with four other representations, citing the road layout, need for affordable homes, drainage and accessibility among the concerns.

A letter from the applicant stated that a family member wanted to buy one of the affordable units and there was interest in the second house as well, with no intention for the market value homes to be second homes.

However, this is not possible to enforce said Cllr Paul Hinge, while Cllr Bryan Davies said that members had been told previously of interest in homes in the village, with a recent site sold to a developer.

The site is on the road from Pontgarreg to Llangrannog between existing properties, with Dyffryn and a neighbouring property owned by the applicants.

The highways department had objected on safety grounds as the site is on a bend with poor visibility.

The applicant had been unable to arrange a highway consultant to visit due to lockdown but this happened on July 6 and the report submitted the evening before the committee met.

Councillors voted to defer the application to next month’s meeting to allow for consideration of the new highway information and if it was possible to make the area safer.