It seems that someone is in an awful hurry in The Welsh Assembly Government to have permission for 200 houses (a departure application) pushed through Anglesey Councils planning committee to satisfy a deal with Anglesey Aluminium before the current year financial end. Download 12012010 Terry Stevens WAG Questions that need to be raised (echoes of WAG at Ty Mawr, Llanfairpwll) as to precisely what is the relationship between the applicant WAG and the landowner Anglesey Aluminium. What promises have been made? The Anglesey Council LDP pre-deposit draft (2006-2021) contains this site as "housing" however in the stopped UDP the Council were forced to drop housing and return the entire site to "employment" following the Planning Inspectors comments.
Why therefore has the Council changed its mind and re-introduced housing in the light of the inspectors comments? Why are WAG putting pressure on the Policy section of Anglesey Council to accept housing on the only decent employment site in Holyhead? Surely other sites could be found?
We understand that an onjection by the Economic Development Department to the potential loss of "employment" land for housing is causing a problem for WAG and Anglesey Council who wish to see the departure application for housing approved post haste. A housing and Extra Care application 34C553A at Ty'n Coed, Llangefni (for 139 houses and a 50 unit Extra Care) was determined at committee in November 2008 and in a split decision the Extra Care approved (because the Council wanted it) but the housing element was refused.
The reason for refusal was i) Prematurity in light of the LDP and ii) The Council claimed it had in excess of 5 years land supply. We believe the 5 year land supply was fabricated to show in excess of 5 years when in fact this was untrue. Analysis by the applicants shows that the Council 5 year land supply figures were fundamentally flawed. Why therefore are Anglesey Council playing games?
On 5th December 2008 Coleg Menai applied to renew their planning permission at Lon Talwrn for housing that was previously a controversial departure application that included a school, housing and roads plus a "construction centre of excellence that was contoversially approved then taken to Judicial Review because Anglesey Council by third party because Anglesey Council had misdirected itself in law. The housing element was meant to cross fund the build cost of the construction centre of excellence. Why therefore was this permission renewed by Anglesey Council in July 2009 be approved given that the reason to grant permission in the first place to fund the Construction centre of Excellence was unnecessary as it was already built.
Anglesey Council seem to descriminate against certain applicants but always gives in to pressure from WAG in any application where they are an interested party, including schools.
The score for "Anglesey Council departure applications for housing" at the moment is as follows:
1. Coleg Menai - approved because it was "a complete package"
2. StMalo - refused because "prematurity of LDP and existing 5 year land supply"
3. Parc Cybi - do you need to guess?
The simple fact is that Anglesey Council's LDP is effectively in cyberspace preventing the Island from moving forward. The only signs of encouragement, potential development at Parc Cybi is tainted by the Welsh Assembly Governments attempts to interfere with democracy at every level being the applicant, the appeals body and the lawmaker and using public funds to compete against developers in Wales thereby creating a scenario where the state is the provider at every level excluding competition. Anglesey and Wales is not a place to do business.
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