Controversial plans to convert a former school into an open market and build 20 affordable homes on the site have been narrowly approved by Carmarthenshire councilors after a long debate. However, approval cannot be formally granted as the Welsh Government has requested an application.

Opponents of the Coedmor school redevelopment plan in Cumann, near Lampeter, argued that there was no local demand for affordable housing and that it should not be allowed because the school site was simply outside defined development boundaries. They said there were no shops, post offices or pubs in Cwmann, that there was a lack of public transport and that the town’s new primary school was full. They were also concerned about the stability of the land and the impact of proposed new homes on surface water flooding and the sewage system.

Citing these concerns at a meeting of the council’s planning committee, Irwin Williams objected, adding that the development could reduce the use of the Welsh language in the area, despite measures proposed by the applicant, Barcud Housing Association, to help residents. to learn the language. . “These are good intentions, but unfortunately we know there is no certainty that this will happen,” he said.

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Barcud’s Geraint Roberts said affordable housing outside the development could meet planning policy as an “exception” and that 20, if not more, affordable properties were needed in the area. I say that a soil stability study has been carried out on a sloped site, a sustainable drainage plan has been approved and the request has been examined by experts from the Welsh government, which is providing a grant of 2 million pounds sterling for the plan.

Councilor Denise Owen, whose Llanibidder ward includes Cwmann, opposed the application, saying only one person in the village had approached her in need of housing, in this case a flat. A commission report states there is a shortage of social housing in the Llanibidder parish, causing “unacceptably long” waits for people in urgent need of housing. For the latest Carmarthenshire news, sign up to our newsletter here.

The report says that part of the land, which consists of a former school and a demountable classroom, is within the Cwmann development, but the school yard and the rest of the land are outside. He added that the plan included a retaining wall and that the homes were unlikely to create an unacceptable loss of privacy for existing neighbors. The committee was told that surface water issues at the site would be resolved by a dedicated drainage lake and Welsh Water had no objections.



View of the grounds of the old Coedmor school.

Responding to concerns about a lack of space, a planning officer told councilors that the availability of new housing in Cwmann could make the new store viable. He added that the homes would allow Welsh speakers in the area who need property to stay rather than move away. Councilor Peter Cooper, who suggested the committee support staff’s recommendation for approval, said Carmarthenshire was short of 2,500 affordable homes.

Barcud must meet a number of planning conditions and contribute £44,000 to improving pedestrian crossings. The affordable homes consist of two bungalows and 18 one, two and three-bedroom homes, while the renovated school building will be converted into a four-bedroom open-plan commercial home.