Remove the site from the Plan

Land and woodland adjacent to Llangennech estuary

SeC7/h3

The land marked out for development is habitat to a range of wildlife, with many
woodland birds breeding in the area.
Adjacent to that marked land is another area of mixed woodland, which itself leads on to
the marsh and estuary fed by the River Loughor.
The undisturbed woodland attracts such birds as Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blue, Great
and Long tailed Tits, Tree Creepers, Nuthatch, Sparrowhawk, Blackcap, Wren, Dunnock,
Song and Mistle Thrush, to name but a few. There have also been reports of Tawny Owl
calling, probably therefore roosting or nesting in the taller trees covered in Ivy.
The nearby undisturbed estuary is a haven for good numbers of wading and other birds,
such as Redshank, Little Egret, Lapwing, Cormorant, Shelduck, Greylag and Canada
Geese (in the right season), and raptors such as Peregrine Falcon and Buzzard.
Also near the proposed development you will often find Grey Heron, Curlew, Common
Sandpiper, occasionally the scarce Great White Egret and shy Water Rail.
Importantly, the area attracts some Schedule 1 birds, protected under the Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981. These include, in, around or above the woodland, Redwing (in
winter) Cetti`s Warbler, and fly-over Red Kite, and on the nearby estuary Greenshank,
Peregrine, Merlin, Kingfisher, and under certain weather stormy conditions Spoonbill
coming up to shelter from strong south-westerlies from further down the estuary . Marsh
Harrier and Hen Harrier have also been recorded on the estuary marsh-land. All
Schedule 1 birds are to be protected from disturbance.
During the late autumn and early winter season, the woodland floor and lower parts of
trees are home to a wide variety of fungi, including inkcaps and turkeytail. The
undergrowth is habitat to numerous insects, and by the Spring the woodland and path
come alive with a variety of moths and a wide range of butterflies, including the early
Orange Tips, Gate Keeper, Small Tortoiseshell and many others.
All these species are subject to disturbance, whether directly within the woodland, or
close by on the adjoining marsh and estuary.
Being so close to the proximity of the marsh and the abundance of insects, there is a
high chance that this area is also used by a variety of bats. Although this would need to
be surveyed professionally from the spring onwards, to include using bat echo-detecting
equipment, it is highly likely bats using the edge of the woodland and marsh to feed off
midges as well as moths.
Nature, green spaces, and the environment generally, need to be protected from
disturbance and destruction.

Infrastructure

The area has a road from Llangennech through Bryn that already required the building of
the relief road to ease traffic some 30+ years ago, and is a two-way speed-bump road to
help cut down the risk of accidents. The area does not have a road infrastructure for
more housing development, and this would only add to traffic accident risk, build up of
local traffic generally, congestion “both ways”, particularly the narrow access through
Llangennech toward the M4.
Current buses would become insufficient for additional residential developments, and
`additional` buses would only add to the congestion as mentioned above.
Both Llangennech and Bryn schools are at capacity, and may be unable to cope with
additional children from proposed development of new homes. Any forced increase to
school places would affect the safety of children and parents alike, already very busy at
`school run` times, plus more congestion again at the school gates.
Llangennech is currently serviced by a small GP Practice, which again would struggle to
take on more proposed patients. Any attempt to overload the GP service further would
have a detrimental affect on the physical workload of the GP, Locums and staff of the
small Practice, plus of course the fact that local residents that might not be able to be
seen that day if `overbooked`.
With the massive impact on the local environment, both natural and human, plus the
devastation to wildlife and habitat, the land should not be destroyed to make way for yet
more houses that will only create more problems with local roads and village life.
Damage to the environment on the land would see woodland lost forever, and the
proposed developments will only have a detrimental impact on local services and safety.
Disturbance to some wildlife and protected (Sch.1) birds would be catastrophic, and
probably illegal.
I request that the proposed developments be rejected on the numerous grounds
summarised above, and that the environment be protected for future generations.