Olchfa Housing Estate
Councillors have determined that fields at a secondary school in Swansea will be demolished to make way for 101 new homes and apartments.
They will be erected on property at Olchfa School, which council bosses declared surplus six years ago, with the proceeds of any sale going towards a 3G sports pitch. The three-hectare development will have 35 affordable one, two, and three-bedroom homes. The remaining homes will be on the open market, with the majority being three and four bedrooms.
Despite a petition with just under 300 signatures and over 120 individual letters of opposition, a planning committee voted seven to two in favour of the development.
Significant concerns were made about schoolchildren's and pedestrians' safety, increased flooding risk, environmental damage, increased traffic in the neighbourhood, and the impact on nearby homes, as well as the irreversible loss of open green space.
Councillors Cheryl Philpott and Mike Day were the only Sketty Councillors to address the Committee. They made the points of concern that local residents had raised with them, and asked the Committee if they were happy to make a decision on incomplete information. If not, they suggested that the committee defer the item until they had the data on pupil flows at the rear entrance of the school, and traffic counts along Aneurin Way measured when the school was not closed due to COVID restrictions.
Planning agent Phil Baxter, on behalf of Westacres Ltd, said there had been "detailed and very constructive" pre-application discussions with officers, and that the scheme was high quality and complied with planning policies. The estate will include new trees and other landscaping, plus a drainage attenuation area.
The report before the committee said there were 71 objections to the application. It also included comments from a crime prevention officer, who said a proposed cycle and footpath cutting through a corner of the site shouldn't be included because similarly-designed ones had caused issues with anti-social behaviour and crime.
An officer said the planning department was satisfied with the cycle and footpath because there would only be one access and exit point otherwise. Planning officers recommended the application for approval, subject to conditions.
Councillors asked questions about access to the site and the impact on school and commercial buses sharing the lay-by. A highways officer said the design of the Aneurin Way entrance had been amended and improved, and that he was content the bus lay-by would have sufficient space as a result of being extended.
Westacres Ltd must sign an agreement with the council to provide the 35 affordable units and also contribute £844,028 to the authority's education department. A chunk of playing field land has been retained by Olchfa School.
This article was taken in part from a Wales Online entry by local democracy reporter Richard Youle. Find the original here.
