PLANS for an “eyesore” seven-storey block of flats at Aberystwyth’s marina are expected to get a cautious thumbs-up from planners despite a long string of objections, including from the town council.
An application for five two-bedroomed self-contained apartments of land directly between the Marina Flats at the Lanfa, Trefechan and the Pen yr Angor Road and the Maes y Môr development is to be heard at a meeting of Ceredigion County Council’s development management committee on Wednesda, 17 January.
Members are recommended to defer the application for completion of an agreement on the provision of affordable housing and to approve the application subject to conditions, once the S106 agreement is complete.
A previous application – for six flats – was refused in September 2021 over the height of the proposal being “out of character with its surroundings and the street scene”; that the planning authority had been “unable to fully assess the application in relation to highway and parking arrangements”; and the “potential impact on the West Wales Marine SAC and in respect of flooding concerns.”
Aberystwyth Town Council has stated it strongly objects the 19.7m-high development on grounds including its height and size; that it represents an over-development of the site; that the design is “not in keeping with other neighbouring buildings”.
The council also referenced “strong local objection”, a loss of green community land, the issue of land ownership, and flood risk.
A report for planners says there have been 54 objections to the scheme, raising a long string of concerns including its height, a claimed lack of need for “luxury unaffordable flats”, “too much housing development going on in the immediate area”, “the proposed development being out-of-keeping with the immediate area”, “a loss of amenity and privacy issues to adjoining buildings”; and being “an overdevelopment”.
Objectors have labelled the proposed development a “giant carbuncle” and “eyesore,” the report says.
The application is referred to the January committee at the request of the local councillor Endaf Edwards, raising issues similar to the objectors.
A report for planners says the total requirement for housing delivery within Aberystwyth is 1,877, with only 647 completed in the Urban Service Centre, leaving “capacity for a further 1,071 dwellings” in the town.
As part of the affordable housing requirements, the report says the applicant is offering one of the units as affordable, meeting the relevant 20 per cent criteria for affordable units.
The report finishes: “In conclusion it is considered that the proposal is acceptable and can be supported.
“There are no material objections to the overall scheme, and it is recommended that the application be approved subject to conditions and subject to the completion of a S106 agreement regarding the provision of affordable housing.”