Dear Colleagues
Sorry it has taken time to report on the RCT Development
Control Committee that took place on 18 July. At this meeting it was agreed to
support the outline planning permission for the new town development and the
specific proposal for Sainsburys.
You may recall that it seemed this decision was actually
taken on 28 February this year. However, at that time, the Committee agreed
that it should only go ahead if the developers found £4m to prepare the
highways for phase 1 and 2. Shortly after the meeting the developers said they
could not afford this sum of money and a long period of negotiations started.
At the meeting of 18 July it was reported that the outcome
of the negotiations had resulted in the developers being prepared to pay around
£2m for highway developments at the 4119 and 437 roundabout, relating to the
phase 1 development. This new figure was approved by the Development Control
Committee.
The Welsh Government needs to be informed under an old piece
of law requiring all new retail development to be reported to them, but it is
expected that this will be a matter of form as this law has subsequently been
repealed. The full RCT council meeting I believe still has to approve the
decision but there is little prospect of that not happening as all councillors
attend the Development Control Committee.
This is where the report now becomes a personal one and does
not represent the view of any of my colleagues who have put in hours of effort
on the Pontyclun working group.
1.
I remain unhappy about the decision as I’ve
argued before, quoting reports that can be seen on this website, the
indications are that big high street shopping is on a long term decline due to
the internet and the general fall in consumers real spending, coupled with
rising retail overhead costs. Jobs are very important and the brownfield site
should have been used to extend the very successful industrial units such as
those on Coedcae Lane. The Post Office could also have been involved in the
development of a 24/7 drop and pick up point for internet orders, possibly
working with Leekes. This is the sort of development that cuts with the current
trends and would have helped our existing village centres.
2. I know that many people are keen to have a local Sainsburys and I hope you enjoy your shopping. It should have at the very least been built just on the brownfield land.
3. £5m is required to complete the infrastructure work for phase 1 and another £6m for phase 2. It is not clear to me how and who is going to fund the difference between the £2m promised and the £5m required in phase 1.
4. The company that RCT are dealing with was called Valad Developments (Llantrisant) Ltd but change their name for some inexplicable reason to Talbot Green Developments Ltd in January of this year. They state in their accounts that the land is worth about £12m and they have a £20m loan against it from the Bank of Scotland. It is very difficult to work out who ultimately owns the company as Valad was taken over the multi-national private equity company Blackstone in 2011. Blackstone could still own half or all or they could have sold it totally to the Scarborough property organisation. Either way, the land is leveraged and although the owners call themselves developers, they are actually really interested in the money, so I expect they will soon as possible realise the added value for getting the planning permission through, sell on the land and cover the debt. Who RCT will then be dealing with is anyone’s guess: all I hope is that we don’t see another film studio scenario.
5. So where do we go from here? The ‘call in’ is still with the Welsh Government minister and it is up to their discretion – there is little sign of the matter being taken seriously. We’ve asked the AM to inquire for us.
6. Finally, if you are ready to take a stand on the ground to preserve the green space and so am I. Other than that, we shall have to monitor and watch this space to see whose analysis is closest to the unfolding reality.
2. I know that many people are keen to have a local Sainsburys and I hope you enjoy your shopping. It should have at the very least been built just on the brownfield land.
3. £5m is required to complete the infrastructure work for phase 1 and another £6m for phase 2. It is not clear to me how and who is going to fund the difference between the £2m promised and the £5m required in phase 1.
4. The company that RCT are dealing with was called Valad Developments (Llantrisant) Ltd but change their name for some inexplicable reason to Talbot Green Developments Ltd in January of this year. They state in their accounts that the land is worth about £12m and they have a £20m loan against it from the Bank of Scotland. It is very difficult to work out who ultimately owns the company as Valad was taken over the multi-national private equity company Blackstone in 2011. Blackstone could still own half or all or they could have sold it totally to the Scarborough property organisation. Either way, the land is leveraged and although the owners call themselves developers, they are actually really interested in the money, so I expect they will soon as possible realise the added value for getting the planning permission through, sell on the land and cover the debt. Who RCT will then be dealing with is anyone’s guess: all I hope is that we don’t see another film studio scenario.
5. So where do we go from here? The ‘call in’ is still with the Welsh Government minister and it is up to their discretion – there is little sign of the matter being taken seriously. We’ve asked the AM to inquire for us.
6. Finally, if you are ready to take a stand on the ground to preserve the green space and so am I. Other than that, we shall have to monitor and watch this space to see whose analysis is closest to the unfolding reality.
Thanks for your interest and support over the last couple of
years. Sorry we were not more successful but who knows, money and the lack of
investment return may be more powerful than planning permission!
