LOCAL councillors are better placed to made decisions on planning applications than ministers in Cardiff Bay, a Gwent AM has said.

South Wales East's Delyth Jewell was speaking as a planning application to build 260 new homes in Hendredenny, Caerphilly, was due to go back before councillors on Wednesday.

The application by Redrow Homes for the site north of Hendredenny Drive was previously refused by Caerphilly County Borough Council, but this was overturned after the developer launched an appeal.

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But, speaking during First Minister's Questions today, Tuesday, Plaid Cymru AM Ms Jewell said she was concerned decisions such as this made by councillors intimately familiar with the range of issues affecting particular areas could be overturned by ministers with far less local knowledge.

"Nobody is in a better position, surely, to make informed decisions about local planning than the people who live there," she said.

"In 2016, Caerphilly councillors voted against granting planning permission for a housing development at Hendredenny. Local residents were rightly angry to see this decision overturned by a minister in Cardiff Bay, and councillors are set to vote again on this tomorrow after planning chiefs approved the application.

South Wales Argus:

Delyth Jewell

"The reality is that the infrastructure isn't there to be able to cope with 260 additional homes in terms of roads, school places and GP access.

"Only a fraction of these new homes are termed affordable, so the benefit to the local area seems questionable to say the least. Thirty-five letters of objection have been lodged, and there are also concerns about the impact on the environment of building on a greenfield site."

Addressing Mark Drakeford she said: "Isn't it time Welsh Government reformed planning policy to make it about planning in the meaningful sense of the word, by involving local voices from the start, and building the provision of suitable infrastructure and services into development plans from the beginning rather than imposing unwanted projects on local residents?"

Replying, the first minister said the right to appeal against planning decisions was set out in law, and had been reviewed in the Welsh Assembly as recently as 2017.

"The changes were designed to make the system more proportionate, cost effective, and to open it more to public participation in the appeals process," he said.

South Wales Argus:

Mark Drakeford

Mr Drakeford added only about one per cent of planning appeals are submitted to Welsh Government ministers for determination each year, and no judicial review had been ordered against the decision to allow planning permission for the Hendredenny proposals.

The Hendredenny plans involve 200 houses with a mixture of two, three and four bedrooms available for private market sale, 36 would be for social rent, and 24 designated as affordable housing.

Two equipped play areas and a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) are also planned at the centre of the site, next to Rhuddlan Court.

The plans have been designed to incorporate a bus route within the site, to encourage the use of public transport.

Several pedestrian and cycle links are also planned to connect with existing nearby residential developments, while a connection to the Aber Valley Cycle Route - linking Caerphilly with Senghenydd - is also proposed.

Concerns raised against the plans include an increase in traffic, loss of green space, and a lack of school and GP surgery places.