Pontyclun Community Council's response

All

Below is the introduction to the Pontyclun Community Council response to the new town centre planning application. It was agreed at the September PCC meeting and has been sent into RCT. The response is a merger of the PCC first one sent in December and the working group's own latest response. The introduction includes all the main changes. It is important to stress that this is the formal response of the PCC and is a different document to the one submitted by the working group.

C/11/1330/13                                                  27 September, 2012

Service Director Planning

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Sardis House

Sardis Road

Pontypridd

CF37 1DU

For the attention of Mr Jim Bailey

Representation on Planning Application 11/1330/13 (addendum and revised plans received August 2012).

Land adjacent to Cowbridge Road and A473 (inc Leekes Dept Store, former Purolite works and Staedtler factory site), Talbot Green, CF72 8XU.

Dear Mr Gale,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the amended application and for agreeing to extend the submission date for the Pontyclun Community Council’s response so as to enable us to complete our democratic process.

We note that the amended application is almost exclusively responding to the points of negotiation between the developer and RCT. Consequently, we are very concerned, that an opportunity has been lost to respond positively, to the many points raised by the local community, in the first consultation process. This does not reflect well on the priorities of the developer or RCT and raises serious questions about the validity of the consultation process.

In our earlier response to this planning application sent to you 31.12.2011 we made the following points:

1.     That, in the event that Planning Authority is minded to award consent, the Borough Council be asked for its plans on how it intends to preserve the viability and vibrancy of the village of Pontyclun.

2.     That the Planning Authority be informed that the Community Council has grave concerns about the amount of traffic which will be generated by the development on an already overloaded highway system at peak hours.

3.     That the Borough Council insist that a traffic assessment, independent of the applicant, be carried out to take account of known major residential planning consents in the area and the likely impact of the new town centre proposals.

4.     That the cost of the report be borne by the applicant.

5.     That an environmental impact assessment be carried out, independent of the applicant, on the effect the developer’s proposals for the village of Pontyclun.

6.     That the cost of the report be borne by the applicant.

It is with great regret therefore, that we find ourselves in the situation of having to repeat all the points made during the first consultation period. In particular the Pontyclun Community Council wishes to draw the planning committee’s attention to our point number 1 above as we consider this to be the most significant threat to the community we represent. Since the first response the Pontyclun Community Council has now had more opportunity to reflect on the wider implications of the proposal and would now like to make additional comments relating to access, the environment, the design, thriving local communities, activity and safety and a fair approach for all. These are detailed in the rest of the letter.

The development does not look like a town centre, still resembling an out of town shopping park. Moreover, it appears to be one that is detached from the local community with a lack of pedestrian and cycle access. In short, it looks like a concrete walled and road moated privatised space, excluding people when the shops are shut or when they do not have much money to spend. Our proposals seek to address these points and we have every expectation that they will now be seriously considered.

The applicant has provided a Design and Access statement which states that the application should result in a town centre which would be

· Active, inclusive and safe

· Well run

· Environmentally sensitive

· Well designed and built

· Well connected

· Thriving

· Well served

· Fair for everyone

The Pontyclun Community Council is objecting to the application because the specific actions set out in the application do not meet in several crucial respects many of the above key attributes set out by the applicant.

We understand that the Local Development Plan makes provision for retail development on this site. Within the community our survey indicates that there is a majority of people who would welcome increased retail and leisure activity on this site. However a very large majority of residents want a development that meets key concerns that they have. Our objection is based on the fact that the application does not sufficiently meet those concerns.

We are making this representation within the extended period of consultation to 30 September agreed verbally with Mr Jim Bailey. Nevertheless as the discussion continues within the community we hope that you will be willing to receive further representations from the PCC.