Objectors to a planned 33 home development in Llanilar have pointed to a report that outlines Wales is on track to exceed its national social housing target, with “no need” to build speculative developments on greenfield developments.

Outline plans for 33 new homes on farmland in Llanilar – the subject of a petition from residents during a pre-planning consultation period – were submitted to Ceredigion County Council in January.

The application hopes to see a total of 33 new homes – all affordable and delivered by housing association Barcud – built on land at Tanrallt Farm.

While planning documents said there is a “justifiable demand for affordable housing in the area”, during a pre-planning consultation last year, a public meeting heard that village residents are “genuinely worried” over the scale of the scheme and the impact it will have on Llanilar.

Objectors against the scheme have now cited findings from the Welsh Government’s Welsh Housing Monitor (2026) report, which shows that Wales is on track to exceed its national social housing target, with delivery projected to reach 20,182 homes by November 2026, surpassing the Welsh Government’s commitment of 20,000 homes for this Senedd term.

A Llanilar residents group said the “strong national performance raises serious questions over the growing number of speculative developments being put forward on unallocated rural land” and the “findings undermine claims that off-plan greenfield developments are needed to meet urgent demand.”

The Welsh Government report also shows that Ceredigion has experienced one of the sharpest house-price falls in Wales, with a 5.3 per cent decline over the last year, which objectors said “indicates that the local market is not under acute pressure and does not support claims of exceptional local demand.”

Residents argue that the proposal for Llanilar contradicts Welsh Government policy, which requires housing need to be assessed through Local Housing Market Assessments and delivered through LDP-allocated land.

“Allowing development on unallocated rural sites risks undermining the integrity of the planning system at both local and national levels,” objectors said.

A 295 signature petition called for the scheme to be rejected, while 120 formal objection letters were submitted to the county council during the public consultation earlier this year.

Hugh Morgan, member of a local resident group opposing the Tanrallt development said: “The Welsh Government’s own data shows Wales is exceeding housing targets, has thousands of empty homes, and faces construction capacity issues — not land shortages.

“Nothing in the national evidence justifies placing a housing estate outside the LDP and outside the village boundary of Llanilar or anywhere else in Ceredigion.

“Decisions must be based on facts, not opportunistic development pressure.”

The group said that the council’s Housing Need Register, which is being used by developer Tair Chwaer Cyf to justify the Tanrallt development, “contains repeated entries across multiple categories and up to five entries per individual - inflating and misrepresenting the true level of housing need.”

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The application is expected to come before Ceredigion County Council’s Development Management Committee for a decision on 13 May.