A proposal by residents to protect green spaces in a Vale of Glamorgan village that have potential for future housing has been rejected. Hundreds of St Athan residents said land in Ringwood Crescent has been used for recreation and sport for years and called on the council to turn it into a green space for the town.
The land’s owners, Annington Developments Ltd, opposed the application, arguing that the public already had a right to use the land. Members of Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Public Protection Licensing Committee met on Tuesday, November 14, to discuss the residents’ request.
“This is the last green zone for [residents]” said Vale of Glmaorgan councilor for St Athan, Cllr Stephen Haynes, referring to the Flemingston side of the village. They are surrounded by houses to the north. ” For more news, subscribe to our newsletter here.
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The Parc Fferm Wen complex of over 200 homes is located on St Athan’s Road, northwest of Ringwood Crescent. Questionnaire responses from 160 St Athan residents were presented to the council as evidence of how the land is currently used for recreational purposes, including dog walking, sports and picnics.
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Cllr Haines added: “160 residents in an area of around 300 homes is quite a lot. If you allow this site not to be a green space for the city… Annington Homes, one of the UK’s largest landlords, wants to build it. This land will disappear. It will become housing and housing in an area where there are no stores. The poorest people in the community will once again be restricted. We have to make sure we protect the objects. .. People.”
Residents’ testimony states that the land has been used as an open space for leisure since 1938 and for at least the last 20 years. However, the claimants also had to prove that the land was used by law and not by right. Use of land by right means that it is used secretly or by force when such use is not authorized.
Annington Developments argued that the use of the land was lawful because the public had a right to use it and there were signs on the land permitting its use for recreational purposes. Eversheds Sutherland solicitor Stephen Jefferson acted for Annington Developments at the meeting.
Jefferson said, “The evidence shows that the use of the land was with the permission of the owner.” He also said referring the case to an independent investigation to gather more evidence before making a decision would be “an unnecessary expense and a use of council resources.”
A member of the committee, Cllr William Hennessy, asked the lawyer whether Annington Developments intended to build on the land if the town’s green belt application was rejected. To this, Mr Jefferson admitted that he did not know what the client’s intentions were for the land, but added: “If it were proposed to develop on this land… obviously that would be the subject of a planning application to be determined in the future. ” . merits of the council.”
Vale of Glamorgan Council’s chief solicitor, James Docherty, said officers believed they had sufficient evidence to recommend rejecting the application on the basis that the land was used by law or by law. He said: “In this case, the officers are sure it is a pretty clear case.”
Docherty also said the question of what the owner intended to do with the land in the future was irrelevant to the application and reminded members that the Village Green application was “not a means of stopping development”. Another committee member, Cllr Michael Morgan, said: “We cannot escape the emotion. It seems pretty clear to me that the land is being used, and rightly so. It doesn’t seem to be that now. when there is a threat of land appropriation.”
Cllr Ruba Sivagnanam agreed with Cllr Morgan, adding: “I have a lot of sympathy for the residents there… the idea of having [the land] as field vegetables are desirable. However, we have to respect the law… if we accepted this and it was directed towards an independent investigation, it would be very expensive. “We all know here that it would be difficult to bear, if we could bear it at all.” Other committee members, including Cllr Hennessy, Cllr Gillian Bruce, Cllr Vincent Driscoll and Cllr Chris Franks, voted against the recommendation to abandon the application.
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Source: Wales Online
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
