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Swansea Council’s South West Area Planning Committee has rejected an application from Carrington Moore Estates, in which the former Welsh rugby captain Andy Moore has an interest, which threatened Picket Mead Common at Newton.(2)
The planning application was for five detached dwellings and associated works at Picket Mead House, Murton Lane. The officers recommended approval but the committee members overturned this and refused permission.
The development included the construction of a driveway over registered common land, as well as works underneath it. Carrington Moore Estates had applied for consent from the Welsh Assembly for works on the common, but these were merely for the underground cables and the application didn’t even mention the proposed access way. In any case, since it is illegal to drive across a common, there was no way consent should have been given for this development.
The new houses would have towered over the common and spoilt the public’s enjoyment of this green space.
Swansea Council’s policy ENV 29 from the unitary development plan 2008 states that ‘common land will be protected from development in recognition of its importance for agriculture, natural heritage, the historic environment and as an informal recreation resource’. Clearly the plans conflicted with that excellent policy.
We are pleased that the councillors stuck to the policy and rejected the application. Picket Mead Common is a treasured open space, much loved by the local community. We hope that it is now safe from predators.