Cynonville Update

August 2010

Well, July has ended and our revised site plan is still with us and not with the planners. This is not a backward step but rather the result of a further meeting we had last Friday with the planning officer and a representative from highways.

The results of this meeting are that we need to go back to the drawing board – with more specific information now about what the highways authority wants in the way of footpaths and gradients and turning circles.

This little village development, with its one road, will have 2-metre wide footpaths on both sides of the road and enough space to turn an 11 metre lorry round at the end of the road. I just hope the residents will enjoy the space!

We had thought that a 2 metre wide footpath running along the front of the top houses would negate the need for a similar width path along the road behind them – but apparently not. So we need to re-draw the road and perhaps move the houses slightly to accommodate the extra width.

We also clarified at this last meeting what the deadline is for us to submit without having to pay another fee. We found we still have some time in hand.

So all in all we're very grateful to be progressing along more reasonable and pleasant lines than has sometimes been the case. Happy too that the planners seem to be willing to give us good detail about what they require. And very happy, thirdly, that we are able to produce the variations to the plans in-house!

Cynonville Site

July 2010

An informative meeting with the planners in Neath Port Talbot on Friday 23rd. They were all smiles and helpfulness as we discussed the site layout we had submitted. We need to make some minor amendments, but Planning accepts that the site will be developed with 20 dwellings. The whole discussion was a pleasant surprise and such a contrast to our previous contact with them at the appeal hearing.

The Welsh Assembley brought in a code for sustainable housing last year and this involves producing a new document as part of the design and access statement. The document spells out how our buildings will meet the required level of ecological benignity. We must reach a certain number of points.

How do we get points? Well every aspect of the development can win points. There are the obvious things like double glazing, using low-energy light bulbs, beefing up insulation methods and so on. We can also gain points by providing bicycle sheds, re-cycling grey water and giving new home owners a document about how they can save energy. This is a useful exercise although the document looks a bit daunting at 42 pages!

This week we'll make final drawings and submit these to the planners by the end of July.

Planning Permission Granted

February 2008

The local Council has given us full planning permission to build the five detached homes on our plot. When the architect submitted his detailed house plans in December, we wondered what sort of reception they would get. In view of the quirks of this particular piece of land, we were half-expecting to be asked to fine-tune our ideas. However, fortune smiled upon us. The only question directed to the architect was a straightforward query about the location of the plot boundaries, which he had no trouble answering. If only all submissions could go so smoothly!

Plans Submitted

December 2007

The architect has submitted detailed house plans to the local Council. We enjoyed fine-tuning the designs with him, first by e-mail and phone and then face-to-face in his office, clustered around his computer. A sloping plot, while great for views, does impose particular challenges for designers and builders. Our land slopes down to a stream on two sides, thus adding to the complexity of the task – so we spent some time playing with different positions, orientations and adaptations for each home. It will be interesting to see whether the Planning Department approves our proposals or asks us to consider further refinements.

Planning Permission Update

October 2007

The local Council has approved our plans to put in a road and services to each site. The architect is now preparing to apply for detailed planning permission for the five detached homes that will be built there. Outline permission for this number of houses had already been granted to the vendors who sold us the property earlier this year.

New website

June 2007

Our Cynonville website is now ready for you to visit. The address is www.cynonville.co.uk

For Sale

June 2007

We are now marketing the individual plots. These are of particular interest to self-builders who want to build ecologically friendly homes. The plots are set in beautiful surroundings adjoining the Afon Forest Park.

This is a pleasing, private site for just five large family homes. The nature of the site means that these homes can be highly individual, constructed to suit the specific needs of their owners. In the first instance Giroma will put in a road and services to each site, including a connection for a bio-disk (or similar) sewerage treatment system.

We can provide a building service for buyers who want to live in this environment but don't want to go down the self-build route. This is a flexible service designed to suit each buyer's particular requirements.

We are preparing a separate website for this development and will alert readers as soon as it's available. Watch this space!