Plans Approved for 235 New Homes in Mold Despite Safety Concerns

PLANS to build 235 new homes on the outskirts of Mold have been approved despite concerns over road safety and flooding issues.
Councillors met yesterday (Wednesday, 13 March) to discuss proposals by Anwyl Homes wants to develop a large area of farming land off Gwernaffield Road.
The Ewloe-based company said 94 of the properties would be allocated as affordable housing to meet the needs of local people.
A total of 53 objections were lodged against the application ahead of the meeting of Flintshire Council’s planning committee.
While officials recommended that permission should be granted, community leaders voiced fears that the scheme could add to problems with traffic and flooding in the area.
Speaking against the scheme at the meeting, local councillor Tina Claydon said: “This is a very large development of 235 houses. It’s of a significant size, and it will have a significant impact on the wider area.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of residents, and they have two main sets of worries. One is regarding the roads and the transport, the other flooding and water.
“Residents have specified that Gwernaffield Road is an area where tractors and lorries come down.
“This is a farming area and they sometimes come down at speed. They don’t adhere to the 20mph speed limit so this can only get worse.”
She added: “We’ve particularly got to look at this in terms of increased global warming and the problems that causes.
“There are already areas in the ward like Meadowside and Firgrove, where residents have to move out of bungalows because they can become flooded periodically.”
Despite the objections, the proposals were backed for approval by Flintshire’s chief planning officer ahead of the meeting.
In a report to councillors, Andrew Farrow outlined several proposed road improvements which would be delivered as part of the application, with a legal agreement expected to be put in place.
They include a traffic restriction order on Factory Pool Lane, changes to the speed limit on the A541 Denbigh Road and a new footpath along the front of the site on Gwernaffield Road.
He added that mitigation measures would be put in place to lower the risk of flooding, including the installation of a new sewage pipe.
Cllr Chris Bithell, cabinet member for planning, said he had some reservations over the plans, but backed the officer’s recommendation due to the need for new houses in the area.
He said: “Am I overjoyed about this? Not particularly as I was born and raised in Mold, and I’ve lived here all my life.
“I didn’t particularly want to see this land developed but the bottom line is, we have to provide housing for people to live in.
“Every application that comes to this committee, there are objectors who are usually people who have a house over their head, and they’ve been able to house and raise families.
“We’ve got to look at it from that point of view as we’ve all got children and grandchildren, and we want to somewhere for them to live as well.”
The proposals were approved by eleven votes to two at the end of the debate.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter