Janet Finch-Saunders AM, Shadow Secretary for Local Government and Assembly Member for Aberconwy, has called on the Welsh Government and Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs to take action to prevent large scale housing developments on greenfield site.

The AM has highlighted the controversy over the revised TAN1 guidance and its impact on housing land availability calculations, and local authorities’ LDPs.

Janet said: “The knock-on effects of the changes to the housing land availability calculation under the revised TAN 1 are now starting to come into play for residents in Conwy and in all authorities across Wales.

“In response to the TAN 1 consultation, local planning authorities generally disagreed with the sole use of the residual methodology for calculating housing land supply—a method that, according to the Welsh Local Government Association, ‘lacks a degree of realism’ and can be distorted by build rates to produce ‘unrealistic and unachievable results’, whilst at the same time seeing the loss of many of our greenfield sites.

“The Welsh Government must look at this in the forthcoming October review of the local development plan for local authorities across Wales and actually put some more common sense into the process. Proposals for sites that are coming forward now in Conwy could be devastating, resulting in huge losses to our greenfield sites.”

“I will continue to fight against such proposals, and to ensure that housing land calculations are fair and reasonable, and that local residents are consulted upon, and listened to, at every stage of planning proposals, and during the review of the LDP.”

ENDS

Notes:

The Assembly Member has written to the Leader and Chief Executive of Conwy County Borough Council, calling for a full public consultation on the forthcoming LDP review, copies attached.