ARTIST’S impressions of a new housing estate near Abergavenny have been released – but some people are unhappy with the “low quality” proposals.

Candleston Homes is seeking to build 106 homes off Gypsy Lane in Llanfoist, with 37 properties offered as affordable housing.

Outline planning permission for 115 homes was agreed with Monmouthshire County Council in March 2018, with the designs forming part of a reserved matters application.

The development would have four distinct “character areas”: The Northern Terraces, The Green Avenue, The Central Area and The Southern Edge.

A report to the council’s planning committee says these areas are not intended to divide the development but to provide a “subtle change in style” from the more urban north to the rural south.

But the designs have provoked three objections from Llanfoist residents, with one objector describing them as “very bland”.

They added: “Unless Abergavenny has started making Dulux Weathershield, I see nothing local about this and just the standard UK mock Georgian look.”

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One letter of objection criticised the developer for a “dreadful lack of urban planning”, describing the proposals as a “truly appalling lost opportunity to create a sustainable community”.

Another claimed: “This is very low-quality design proposal that has been substantially downgraded and cheapened since the outline application.”

Llanfoist Fawr Community Council is also opposed to the scheme, which has been recommended for approval by Monmouthshire County Council’s planning officers.

Concerns have been raised its potential impact on local infrastructure, as well as the “overdevelopment” of the village itself.

A response from the council says: “Llanfoist has doubled its size creating an unattractive urban sprawl.”

One of the objections also refers to the site being outside of the county council’s local development plan (LDP), with planning officers admitting that the plans were a “departure” from local policy.

But the outline application was approved before a change in national planning policy saw the council alter its approach to residential developments outside the LDP.

The move means the council attaches “appropriate weight” to proposals for unallocated sites in a bid to plug a shortfall within its five-year housing land supply.

It also restricted any further development on unallocated sites in and around Llanfoist except the Candleston Homes development, which predated the shift in policy.

The planning committee will discuss the application on September 3.