‘We don’t want to be another Abersoch’: Half-a-million-pound homes plans for Gwynedd village rejected

Plans to build “half-a-million-pound homes” in a seaside village on the Llŷn Peninsula have been rejected for a second time to stop it “becoming another Abersoch”.

Cyngor Gwynedd’s planning committee turned down an application to build seven new homes at the former Eglwys Santes Mair site in Morfa Nefyn.

The proposals were submitted by Commercial Development Projects Ltd and represented an updated version of a previous scheme refused last year.

In 2021, planning inspectors upheld the local authority’s decision to dismiss plans for six open market homes at the site because of the development’s possible impact on the Welsh language.

It followed the approval in 2019 of the demolition of the Resurrection of Our Saviour church in Morfa Nefyn, after it fell victim to a sweeping closure programme announced by the Bishop of Wrexham.

Concerns were raised at the houses being “out of the reach of local people,” as well as regarding a narrow access point, traffic flow issues and the potential impact on residents and users of Lôn yr Eglwys and Ysgol Morfa Nefyn.

The amended proposals were considered by the council’s planning committee on Monday.

Planning officer Aneurin Rhys Roberts said the main considerations were whether the new plans met local housing needs and would support and promote the Welsh language.

However, he said the five open market units would add to an “over-provision of housing in the village”.

Mr Rhys Roberts said the houses were likely to sell at prices which would not be affordable for local people when compared to the area’s average income.

He concluded the scheme failed to meet local policy requirements, would likely have a detrimental impact on the Welsh language, and therefore recommended refusal.

Agent Sioned Edwards said it was not viable for the applicant to make all of the homes at the site affordable but that around a third would be offered below market value.

She added the properties would not be advertised nationally until local people had been given first refusal.

But local councillor Gareth Tudor Jones described the site as “not suitable” for seven large houses, with driveways and parking.

He said: “There’s no suitable access, no means of widening the access, it is impossible for two cars to pass, never mind an ambulance refuse vehicle or fire engine.”

He also highlighted that cars are often parked on either side of the road on Lôn yr Eglwys, posing a “real risk” to the safety of parents and pupils if the site was developed.

He said: “If there ever was an over development, this is it, there is no demand for five of the houses.

“The agent said there was ‘strong local demand’ but not for the prices given, at maybe half a million a time. I speak on behalf of the residents of Morfa Nefyn, no-one local can afford them.

“A lot of residents in the village are against the plans, no wants to see Morfa Nefyn turn into another Abersoch – a place where houses are empty half of the year.

“People are struggling financially, there are at least 15 houses on sale in the village out of the reach of anyone local. It would certainly cause significant harm to the local community and Welsh language.”

Councillor Gruff Williams proposed to accept the officer’s recommendation to refuse the application, which was carried unanimously by the committee.

By Dale Spridgeon – Local Democracy Reporter