Controversial 3G Pitch Plan Approved Despite Hundreds of Objections

A controversial plan for a 3G pitch at a Conwy secondary school was approved by councillors, despite over 560 letters of objection from residents.
Conwy County Council applied to its planning department seeking permission for the artificial grass pitch at Ysgol y Creuddyn.
The council received 567 objection letters, including two petitions, compared to 39 letters of support.
But the planning committee granted the application, despite residents speaking at the Bodlondeb meeting insisting the new pitch would cause noise and light pollution, anti-social behaviour, and damage the environment.
The new pitch will be built on the fields behind the school at Derwen Lane, Penrhyn Bay, together with six flood lights.
Resident Miss Elaine Evans told the chamber: “I have lived in the small village of Penrhyn Bay for nearly 30 years.
“The proposal to change the school fields will have a detrimental impact on the community and will be equivalent to a stadium in size and will be less than the length of a local swimming pool from my house.”
Miss Evans then said there would be a significant increase in the hours of use and claimed the pitch would be damaging to wildlife, adding the development could result in ‘unacceptable language’ late into the evening.
She added: “The bund will mean that some residents will lose their privacy as it is higher than the fences. It will be climbed on, not only by the children but by the adults and could lead to anti-social behaviour.”
Cllr Carol Beard said: “Simply it is in the wrong place. No other 3G pitches in the county anywhere are as close to the houses as this one is.”
But cabinet member for education Cllr Julie Fallon said Ysgol y Creuddyn had opened in 1981 and was the only school without an outdoor all-weather facility.
“Any current use of the site is weather dependent, meaning that activities are severely limited during the winter months and regularly cancelled and rearranged.
“The educational benefits of this proposal include increased participation in sports, promoting physical health and well-being, encouraging teamwork and interaction, and it broadens education opportunities.
“There is a high local demand for all-weather facilities for community groups which will greatly benefit from a facility at the school as is evidenced by the letters of support received.”
Cllr Dave Jones proposed the committee backed the plans.
“Sports are integral to young people’s mental health, and that’s one of my considerations,” he said.
Cllr Trystan Lewis, a former pupil at Ysgol y Creuddyn, reminded residents living adjacent to the sports fields that the school was there before the houses and that the land their homes were built upon were also previously fields.
“When I was in school during the Ice Age, there were no houses either side of those fields, and one of the speakers talked about the effects on wildlife,” he said.
“Well, you’ve lost two or three fields there (for the homes). That’s development, but this development specifically is for the benefits of young people and children, and that’s the difference.”
The council claims residents will be protected from noise by two-metre high earthed mounds with 1.5m acoustic screens at the northern and eastern sides of the pitch.
The facilities will also include a three-person changing room for match officials with showers and toilets, a community room, kitchenette, and a spectator area.
Perimeter fencing and storage space will also be included, as will a modular changing pavilion with two changing rooms and private showers and toilets.

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter