COUNCILLORS hope that granting an extension to a planning permission for a massive housing development in Tredegar first given the go-ahead 12 years ago will see it built soon.

At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s planning committee om Thursday, July 28, an application to extend the planning permission for 141 homes to be built on land next to Park Hill Road, Tredegar was discussed by councillors.

The site extends over the western part of a larger 13-hectare site and has been set aside for housing in the Blaenau Gwent Unitary Development Plan.

The application has been lodged by Birmingham-based Real Estate Investors plc.

According to a council report, there has been interest in developing the land since 1959. Planning permission was first granted in July 2010, and a first extension was approved in 2016.

Cllr Peter Baldwin asked if it was possible developers could have “unlimited” extensions to the planning permission.

Planning officer Jane Engel said: “We can’t stop them re-applying.”

Ms Engel explained that if the site had not been built upon by the end of the next Local Development Plan (LDP) there may be a “conversation” needed with the developers about the site.

Planning development manager Steve Smith said that this was one of several sites across Blaenau Gwent where planning permission had been renewed a “number of times.”

He believed that these sites would need to be assessed to see whether they can be kept in the replacement LDP (Local Development Plan) as candidate sites for homes.

The LDP sets out the strategy for meeting the future needs of the county’s communities for housing as well as local development.

Blaenau Gwent’s replacement LDP will be in place until 2033.

Mr Smith added: “The applicant carries the risk that there may be changes of policy that goes against a further renewal.”

Cllr David Wilkshire believed this has been a problem for many years where developers “bank land” to be built on in the future and “starve” smaller construction firms of land to build on.

Cllr Wilkshire believed that time limits should be place on planning permission.

Committee chairwoman, Cllr Lisa Winnett said: “It is quite frustrating this has been going on since the eighties (1980s) and hopefully this time the developer will move this project forward.”

Due to changes in planning legislation in recent years, developers would need to contribute £200,000 to upgrade existing play facilities.

As the proposed development has significant impact on the ecological interest of the site the developer would also need to pay £350,00 to be used for projects on local nature reserves.

A sustainable drainage scheme for the land would also need to approved before anything is built and it is expected that 10 per cent of the houses would need to be affordable homes.

The time extension was approved unanimously.