The decade-long planning saga surrounding a disused reservoir in north Cardiff has taken a new turn as the Welsh Housing and Regeneration Minister agreed with the inspector who said that nothing in the case presented outweighed the harm to the character and appearance of the area through the substantial and irreversible diminution of the reservoir as a heritage asset.
Welsh Housing and Regeneration Minister Carl Sargeant has rejected an appeal by an energy company which wanted to build more than 300 homes on the site.
The minister, acting on the recommendation of a planning inspector, refused US-owned Western Power Distribution’s (WPD) proposals to redevelop Llanishen Reservoir with 324 new homes.
WPD’s plans have been the subject of a series of applications, public inquires and court challenges which have cost Cardiff City Council more than £800,000 in legal and planning costs.
The minister acknowledged the proposals would safeguard open space and help meet the current housing shortage.
But he agreed with the inspector who said that those factors did not outweigh the harm to the character and appearance of the area owing to the proposed access arrangements and the substantial and irreversible diminution of the reservoir as a heritage asset.
Reservoir Action Group chairman Richard Cowie said: ‘This is the second time the Welsh Government ministers have rejected planning appeals by WPD, and Western Power should accept that the local community does not want their proposed development, Cardiff council does not want it and the Welsh Government does not want it.’
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