FLINTSHIRE Council’s failure to put a development plan in place is leaving the county’s land exposed to property developers, according to an Assembly Member.

Conservative North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood, who lives in Flintshire, has criticised the council for not having a Local Development Plan (LDP) in place, well after the expiry of their UDP (Unitary Development Plan) period.

The plan provides the vision for how communities will grow and develop in future, and where development should take place.

Mr Isherwood says that as a result, Flintshire is one of the few local planning authorities in Wales still to adopt an LDP and “is likely to be the last authority to do so”, accusing the council of negligence.

“Flintshire is likely to be the very last council in Wales to adopt a Local Development Plan, and that is simply unacceptable,” he said.

“Without an LDP in place, there is always going to be a heightened danger that developers will put in speculative applications like this throughout the county.

“The Labour-run council is not due to adopt its LDP until more than four years after the previous plan expired.

“That is negligence, plain and simple, and we need to see action from Labour before our green spaces and villages get overrun with inappropriate development.”

On Thursday evening residents from three villages gathered to protest against proposals for a major development on a green space.

The peaceful protest took place at Hope Parish Church, where a pre-planning application consultation event was being held by architects Tweed Nuttall Warburton and agents Fisher German.

They were representing the Clark Estate who intend to submit a planning application to build 80 new homes on fields off Wrexham Road, Abermorddu.

Residents fear the possible development could take a huge toll on already stretched services in Hope, Abermorddu and Caergwrle, and see the three historic villages linked together as an urban town.

The potential development would be close to the recently built Parc Celyn estate next to Abermorddu CP School.

Concerns raised at the drop-in event ranged from how the site would be accessed, to drainage.

With no Local Development Plan currently in place for Flintshire, residents feel under siege and that the area is becoming a target for speculative planning applications.

Llanfynydd Councillor Dave Hughes, Caergwrle Councillor Dave Healey and Hope Councillor Gladys Healey all visited the drop-in event.

Cllr Gladys Healey said: “It will impact on my ward, Hope, where the main road traffic is bad already.

“Then there is the pressure on the services to consider, Hope Medical Centre, the two schools, Ysgol Estyn and Castell Alun.”

Cllr Dave Healey added: “We have anticipated an application for a large number of houses there for a number of years.

“There is a real concern about this proposed development which is highlighted by the fact there is a protest and so many people here this evening.”

Ian Stevenson, of agents Fisher German, acknowledged the protest and said he understood the concerns, but said the reason the pre-consultation event was being held was so the applicants could take on board the views of the public before submitting plans.

He said: “Really, this is the first step.

“The development would provide a range of housing, including afforable housing, closely located to services and facilities.

“The planning application hasn’t gone in yet, there is actually no requirement to hold a consultation at this stage, but we are holding this drop-in event because we are aware of the history of the site.”

In reply to the criticism, Flintshire Council Leader Cllr Aaron Shotton said: “The council is fully aware of its responsibility to prepare its local development plan.

“The Welsh Government letter referred to is disappointing for several reasons, namely:

l It is a response to a specific local issue in one of Flintshire’s communities relating to speculative development.

l It fails to acknowledge the fundamental Wales-wide problem of housing land supply driven by outdated and flawed national policy that is not fit for purpose.

l It takes a deliberately critical approach, rather than supporting the council in the preparation of its LDP.

“Mr Isherwood’s position is equally disappointing for similar reasons, and the council is also concerned that, despite his position as an Assembly Member, he appears unaware of the context for housing land supply in Wales.

“The issues being experienced in Flintshire are common to many local authorities in Wales.

“As Mr Isherwood should know, despite a significant number of authorities in Wales having an adopted LDP, the majority are unable to demonstrate a five-year land supply and find themselves in a similar position to Flintshire in that they are receiving planning applications for residential development on sites which were not allocated in their Development Plan.

“Having an adopted LDP, costing millions of pounds to produce, is therefore no guarantee of having a five-ear land supply, which is what Welsh Government are claiming.

“The real issue being highlighted here is the Welsh Government’s intransigence in failing to acknowledge that there is a clearly evidenced urgent and overdue need to review its Technical Advice Note (TAN1) policy in relation to the calculation of housing land supply.

“Whether Flintshire is the last local authority to produce an LDP is not the issue, particularly in the context that it was one of the few councils to successfully adopt a Unitary Development Plan.

“The timetable the council is following to produce its LDP is well within the performance of other councils in Wales, and better than some of its immediate North Wales neighbours.

“If, as inferred, the council is not fulfilling its responsibility, then why in a letter received this week do the Welsh Government state: ‘The Welsh Government is broadly supportive of the [LDP] preferred strategy…

“The Welsh Government is also generally supportive of the level of homes and jobs proposed.

“The council calls on Mr Isherwood to fulfil his responsibility as an AM in ensuring that the Welsh Government has fair, equitable and fit for purpose land supply policies that allow local authorities to carry out their planning function effectively, rather than have policies from above imposed on its communities.”