Hundreds of homes and potentially thousands of jobs in Pembrokeshire could be at risk due to recent changes in planning guidance, a strongly worded letter to First Minister Eluned Morgan from the county council says.
A letter to the First Minister, written by Cllr Jacob Williams, and backed by full council on October 9, conveys the authority’s “great concern over Natural Resources Wales’ recent river nitrates guidance in relation to development, and the serious effects this is having”.
It says: “As you are aware, it has essentially placed a moratorium on certain types of development in Pembrokeshire, a situation with no quick or obvious way out. The authority is grateful that you have recently created a taskforce into this matter, but is concerned that any outcomes may be slow to emerge.
“Marine and river quality is an important issue, and we understand why improvements are a priority for the Welsh Government. Two other relevant priorities of your government – surely shared by every council and politician in Wales – are housebuilding and economic promotion, both of which are clearly linked.”
It says the area which development is required to demonstrate nitrogen neutrality is approximately 75 per cent of the county, including Haverfordwest, Narberth, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock, and amounts to approximately 35 per cent of the council’s future housing land supply.
The grave situation was outlined in an earlier letter Leader Cllr Jon Harvey sent to Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government Jane Bryant MS, the letter says.
It says this includes:
- 200 live planning applications affected, including 50 housing applications.
- 600 new homes at risk, of which 220 are affordable homes.
- 200 affordable homes funded by Social Housing Grant (SHG) jeopardised, representing ÂŁ25 million of social housing investment.
- 2,236 units in our replacement Development Plan (LDP2) fall within the affected catchment.
- Thousands of direct and indirect jobs at risk.
“Whilst there is tangible evidence that river quality is poor, there is also evidence that PCC is being unfairly hampered in its ability to make progress on development – including significant housebuilding which attracted Welsh Government funding,” the letter says.
“The positive impact of measures tackling water quality must be balanced against the harm created by this moratorium on development, and the associated loss of economic activity.”
Among other requests, it calls for explanations about how Welsh Government “intends to address the issue and find a way forward to allow development to take place,” along with timelines.
It adds: “It is the view of PCC’s planning professionals that the money which has so far been provided or committed to NRW is unlikely to have much direct benefit for individual LPAs. Funding for a marine nutrient officer and £100k for consultancy work at the Nutrient Management Boards has recently been announced, but this is also anticipated to fall well short of the resource implications now faced by affected LPAs.”
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