P-05-948 Save the green fields at Cefn Yr Hendy, Miskin

P-05-948 Save the green fields at Cefn Yr Hendy, Miskin

Completed

 

P-05-948 Save the green fields at Cefn Yr Hendy, Miskin

This petition was submitted by Sophie Seymour having collected 696 signatures online and TBC on paper, a total of 696 signatures.

 

Text of Petition                                

We call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to stop their plans to sell the green fields at Cefn Yr Hendy, Miskin for 460 houses. We ask that Welsh Government use their powers to not sell the land for house building and to desist in their plans for the development which they secured outline planning permission on in 2018. We ask that if they are not able to desist entirely from stopping the development, to leave some of the fields in their natural state. The land is owned by Welsh Ministers. We urge Welsh Ministers to take heed of the Climate Emergency they declared and adhere to the principles of the future generation act and withdraw, or significantly reduce, plans for building on these beautiful Welsh fields.

The fields border Coed Yr Hendy (ancient woodland), the River Clun and the Pant Marsh which is a site of nature conservation. The fields have 2 large Oak trees, hedgerows throughout and a good number of Oak saplings at it's northern parts. Any house building will damage the hedgerows and saplings. A large number of birds, small mammals and insects make Coed Yr Hendy and the fields their home, birds and bats are always swooping over the fields to feed - we should not take this away from them. Building on these fields will have a disastrous outcome for local wildlife and the local ecological system.

 

In light of this country's Climate Emergency it is also becoming more and more important to retain our trees, hedgerows and green spaces when you consider how they absorb and filter carbon dioxide, other air pollutants, they aid with rain water drainage and help with reducing soil erosion. Continuing to leave these fields for sheep farming would bring immense benefits to our environment in Miskin and beyond. This is an opportunity for Welsh Ministers to be climate smart and save this green field site.

 

Additional Information

The fields are in use for sheep farming by a tenant farmer who has farmed these fields for decades. They have also been used by local families for over 70 years for leisure & enjoying nature. A Village Green application was made in 2017 and while it met many of the legal criteria it was not ultimately successful but the Inspector noted that there was “clear evidence of the use of the site for lawful sports and pastimes”.

 

There are traffic and infrastructure implications; local schools and health services are likely to suffer from unsustainable development. The A4119, running along the side of some of the fields has extremely high pollution. There is an air quality management area on the A4119 immediately neighbouring this site. The Rhondda Cynon Taff Council “Air Quality Progress Report 2019” shows that Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) readings for this AQMA have been above the EU and UK legal limit for the last 12 of 13 years. There are thousands of homes being built within 10 minutes drive at Creigiau, Plasdwr, and Laniltid. We question the need for these fields to be built on. Adding c.1000 residents to Miskin's population is not sustainable to the small village (no shops, no health services and 1 Welsh medium primary school) and will lead to an enormous number of new trips by car to access services and schools with an additional 460 houses. There are concerns from local residents that the outline planning permission plans submitted for Welsh Ministers in 2017 also disregarded aspects of the Rhondda Cynon Taff Local Development Plan - notably by not committing to providing a school, by going over the 400 houses specified, by not including a grade separated interchange onto the A4119 and seeking to build on land directly opposite Ysgol Llantrisant (not within LDP). Building there will cause fumes from building works to discharge directly into the school and playground for years as well as increased traffic - causing more pollution and traffic hazards for children.

 

 

Status

This petition was considered completed by the Petitions Committee at its meeting on 12/05/2020.

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to close the petition at the request of the petitioner.

Full details of the consideration of this petitions by the committee and related documents can be seen on the Meetings tab above.

It was first considered by the Petitions Committee on 12/05/2020.

 

Assembly Constituency and Region

  • Pontypridd
  • South Wales Central

 

Further information

 

Business type: Petition

Reason considered: Senedd Business;

Status: Complete

First published: 18/03/2020