Anheddau Mentrau Gwledig

Change to the Plan

Please find below the response from Llanarthne Community Council regarding the Revised Local Development Plan (LDP) for the period 2018-2033.

LDP: Rural Enterprise Dwellings 11.379
As noted through national policy, a rural enterprise dwelling is required where it 'is to enable rural enterprise workers to live at or close to their place of work'. This includes encouraging younger people to manage farm businesses and supporting the diversification of established farms.
11.380 It is not the role or the intention of the Revised LDP to replicate the provisions of national planning policy. Consequently, reference should be had to the provisions of PPW and Technical Advice Note 6 (TAN6) in the determination of applications for new rural enterprise dwellings. National policy clearly states that such proposals should be carefully examined to ensure that there is a genuine need.
11.381 Applications for rural enterprise dwellings should be accompanied by a rural enterprise dwelling appraisal, with permission only granted where it provides conclusive evidence of the need for the dwelling.
TAN 6: 4.1.1 The Assembly Government’s vision for housing is for everyone in Wales to have the opportunity to live in good quality, affordable housing, to be able to choose where they live and decide whether buying or renting is best for them and their families. This vision is applicable to urban and rural dwellings.

Observations:
• The bar for proving “conclusive evidence of the need for the dwelling” is uniquely high for Rural Enterprise Dwellings in comparison with other housing categories. The amount of necessary evidence and the years required to compile data makes such applications prohibitive and is totally out of line with the detail required for an OPD.
• TAN6: 4.1.1 contradicts the lengthy and detailed restrictions placed on individuals and families attempting to remain in their local community.
• The need to live near a rural enterprise should not be assessed on the employment needs of the enterprise alone. Families support rural enterprises in many other ways, not only through their employment on the site.
• Families in alternative fields of employment who have strong ties to the site should be encouraged to remain within their traditional and cultural setting.

CONSIDERATIONS:
1. To bring the requirements of Rural Enterprise Dwellings in line with the requirements of all other housing requirements – including urban housing and One Planet Development housing.
2. To apply the same test of need for a rural enterprise dwelling as that for a dwelling on a One Planet site.
3. To recognise the potential contribution of Rural Enterprise Dwellings to the sustainability of language, culture and heritage.
4. To acknowledge that creating an additional dwelling on a rural enterprise site supports the business and family whether or not the residents are in the employment of the enterprise