Plans for holiday chalets rejected by councillors

Fears were raised that plans to build holiday chalets in a field near Llandyssil  would threaten the already scarce water supply in the area.

Cllr Gareth Pugh as local member had called in the application in front of Powys County Council’s planning committee.

He had received concerns that building three holiday lodges, at land near Camp Farm, Cefn y Coed, Llandyssil near Montgomery, would affect the water table.

Cllr Pugh said: “There is no mains water supply to surrounding properties and residents rely on wells and water bores.

“They have learnt how to live with this and how to manage very carefully a valuable necessity that many of us take for granted.

“They believe that development will be a big threat to the water supply.”

Cllr Pugh read out letters which indicated during summer and times of  residents would only flush the toilet once a day, would take their washing to the launderette and would shower at friends or relatives houses.

He added that Welsh Government Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM, had confirmed that water was a planning consideration.

“Visitors to this site would not have the knowledge or understanding of how to use water conservatively and this frightens locals who know how valuable every drop of water is,” said Cllr Pugh.

Applicant, Joe Powell, explained that the application was to ensure that the family farm could survive by diversifying.

Mr Powell said: “The proposal aims to create a unique tourism destination.

“It would attract tourists with a high disposable income which in turn would benefit pubs, restaurants shop and tourist attraction, increasing spending in the local community.”

Mr Powell also said that a water abstraction licence application would be submitted to Natural Resources Wales.

If that was refused water bowsers and rain water harvesting would served the lodges’ needs.

Cllr Gwilym Williams pointed out that the planning officer’s report said there was “no evidence” to demonstrate insufficient water supply in the area.

Cllr Williams said: “We have just heard speakers and the local county councillor saying that there is a problem, if I can’t believe these people then there is something wrong.”

Cllr Williams asked whether the planning officers had asked NRW whether they thought taking water out of a borehole would affect the supply?

Planning development manager Peter Morris added: “What we heard was local anecdotal evidence, they know what’s there.

“What I would have expected is a response from Environmental Health or Natural Resources Wales (NRW) that there is a problem and this development would compound it – but we have not seen that.”

“There may be a need for the residents to contact them and make them aware of the issue, but we have no evidence that this would cause a problem.”

Cllr Iain McIntosh suggested the application be deferred until the applicant had applied for an abstraction licence and more work had been done on looking into the water supply.

Both councillors Kathryn Silk and Linda Corfield argued that the application could be refused on visual impact and that it is a development in the open countryside.

On these grounds the application was rejected.