Residents urged to rally against controversial plans for 82 new homes in Wrexham

RESIDENTS are being urged to rally against controversial plans to build more than 80 new homes in part of Wrexham ahead of a crunch decision.
Councillors are set to meet on Monday to discuss an application to develop land in the Summerhill area of Gwersyllt.
A number of objections have been raised amid concerns about the additional traffic that would be generated on Top Road.
However, planning committee members are being recommended to approve the proposals put forward by Macbryde Homes after they received the backing of a senior officer from Wrexham Council.
Community leaders are now calling on villagers to turn out in droves to show their opposition as the fate of the 82-property scheme hangs in the balance.
It comes as a leaflet is being delivered to around 500 residents by Gwersyllt west councillor Gwenfair Jones and community councillor Phil Rees.
In the document, the Plaid Cymru politicians said: “This application will have a detrimental impact on our communities.
“There have been several attempts over the years to develop this site with a past housing application rejected locally and on appeal because it is within the green barrier and green wedge which prevents different communities from coalescing.
“The major objection however has been the substandard highway, with the narrowness of Top and Bottom Road as well as parking and pinch points being a major delaying factor on Summerhill Road.
“The latest proposal is for Summerhill Road to be narrowed, so that a new footpath can be built, which with the movements of an additional 200 vehicles will only exasperate an already dire situation.
“All in all, there are strong, overwhelming grounds why this application should be rejected by Wrexham Council and we are confident that should they do so their decision will be upheld on appeal.”
They added: “Could we ask you to make every effort to attend the planning committee which will be held at the Guildhall, Wrexham at 4pm on Monday.
“Please bring your placards, bells and whistles and let’s pack the place out. Remember, we can’t do this alone, we need strength in numbers.”
The site was previously put forward for inclusion in Wrexham’s Local Development Plan (LDP), which sets out land for thousands of new houses.
But it was left out of the blueprint due to constraints, which the local authority said were unlikely to be overcome.
The council’s chief planning officer has recommended the scheme should go ahead as he said the proposed road layout would address the issues raised.
Lawrence Isted also claimed the overall development would contribute to a shortfall of new properties in the area.
In a report, he said: “The application was put forward as an LDP candidate site but was not selected for allocation because of constraints that were not expected to be addressed, namely the Top Road/Bottom Road/Summerhill junction.
“This has since been overcome as a result of the road alterations proposed as a result of the development.
“The council cannot simply defer the delivery of housing until adoption of the LDP.
“To do so would ignore the fact that there has been a persistent and considerable undersupply of housing in recent years.”

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter