New Audlem homes fail space standards

Parish Councillors attended the Strategic Planning Board (SPB) on Wednesday 19th October when the Reserved Matters application 16/1131N for the Little Heath site was heard.

Councillors made a statement (click on PDF file below the photo to read) requesting refusal of the application. It is very disappointing to report that, despite many of them having expressed concerns about elements of the proposal, the SPB chose to approve the application.

Of particular concern was the fact that the smaller homes designated for affordable housing fail to meet the Department for Communities & Local Government's minimum space standards.

Both the 2-bed Monmouth and the 3-bed Carmarthen houses are approximately 10% under the nationally recognised Technical Space Standards for the UK.

Planners recommended accepting this reduction on the basis that a Registered Social Housing provider had agreed to take on the homes. Audlem Parish Councillors were very disturbed to find that that this was deemed more important than ensuring that the houses were actually fit for people to live in.

Additionally, the proposal was not in compliance with several policies of the Audlem Neighbourhood Plan (ANP). Whilst Planning Officers expressed their regret that the ANP could not be taken into consideration they stated they had to follow advice from their legal team. This confirmed that as the outline approval pre-dated the ANP they could only follow the Design and Access statement produced at that time.

The only encouraging part of the procedure was that the planning department confirmed that the ANP will be fully taken into account in all other planning applications in the future. In the meantime, houses which are 'literally' sub-Standard are coming to a development near you, soon.

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