Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:30 pm on 18 June 2019.
I thank the First Minister for his answer. First Minister, nobody is in a better position, surely, to make informed decisions about local planning than the people who live there. In 2016, Caerphilly councillors voted against granting planning permission for a housing development at Hendredenny. Local residents were rightly angry to see this decision overturned by a Minister in Cardiff bay, and councillors are set to vote again on this tomorrow after planning chiefs approved the application. The reality is that the infrastructure isn't there to be able to cope with 260 additional homes in terms of roads, school places and GP access. Only a fraction of these new homes are termed affordable, so the benefit to the local area seems questionable to say the least. Thirty-five letters of objection have been lodged, and there are also concerns about the impact on the environment of building on a greenfield site. First Minister, isn't it time Welsh Government reformed planning policy to make it about planning in the meaningful sense of the word, by involving local voices from the start, and building the provision of suitable infrastructure and services into development plans from the beginning rather than imposing unwanted projects on local residents?