Proposed site for Flint Travellers 'is unacceptable' - Flintshire

From North Wales News

A PROPOSED Travellers’ site has been labelled “totally unacceptable”.

Residents, community leaders and business owners have raised concerns about proposals for six Traveller pitches being created in Flint – plans which have been recommended for approval by county planning bosses.

The application has been submitted for the pitches, along with utility rooms, on land at Huntley Yard on Huntley Lane, near Chester Road.

Alan Jones, whose business Jones Motor Services is directly in front of the site, said he is totally opposed to the proposed pitches.

“I have put a letter of objection in,” he said.

“My business is joining on to the site – I’m very much in the middle of it all.

“The site does not come under Flintshire’s Unitary Development Plan (UDP) and is not appropriate for residential use. The roadway to the site is a single track road leading to a bridge over a railway and is totally unsuitable and dangerous for anyone on foot as there is no footpath on either side of the road, which would present specific risk to any pedestrians.

“The site also does not have good access to the A548. The bridge is also owned by Welsh Water and at the present time Welsh Water has vehicles weighing tons using it on a daily basis to remove waste from its sewage plant.

“Also, a coach and service centre access the road with large vehicles on a daily basis from early morning until late evening. There would only be one access point and there is no water or sewage facilities and it is only half an acre away from the River Dee on flood tide.”

Flint county councillor Rita Johnson has also lodged objections to the plan, stating that access is inadequate and that there would be a negative environmental impact.
Four letters of objections have been received from the public.

A report, which will be discussed by members of Flintshire Council’s planning committee, said: “The proposed site could significantly assist in meeting the required need for additional accommodation.

“It is considered that the proposal is acceptable in terms of the principle of development in planning policy terms, the highway implications, the effects upon the character and appearance of the area and the effects upon the amenities of nearby residents.”