A FURTHER 900 houses planned on top of Monmouthshire's Local Development Plan (LDP) were met with heated debate last Thursday (27th June).

Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) met at the Council Chamber in Usk to discuss the extra dwellings that would go on top of the current LDP target of 4,000 houses.

MCC submitted the LDP to the Welsh Government and Planning Inspectorate at the end of last year, with a public examination undertaken by an independent inspector.

The inspector found that room for a further 900 dwellings would need to be found, a result of a council shortfall of around 450 houses since 2008 and a flexibility allowance which also equated to 450 houses.

MCC's head of planning George Ashworth explained the need for hard decisions when it came to planning.

"We're in a world where we have a target imposed upon us," he said.

These dwellings are planned to go as extensions to existing sites on the LDP.

One such site is Monmouth's Wonastow Road, with a further 80 houses recommended by the planning inspector.

This would bring the entire number of housing planned for the site to 450 units.

The recommendation was met with contention from the councillors as well as some dubious support.

Councillor Robert Greenland was perfunctory with his support.

"There hasn't been a single site that has come forward that hasn't been objected to locally," he said.

"We don't hold the cards anymore, the inspector and the Welsh Government does, and if we don't find somewhere for these 900 houses, they will do it for us.

"When considering each site we need to say, well if not here, where else? If not Wonastow Road, where else in Monmouth?"

Cllr Greenland's concerns further compounded the overriding fear that if the council doesn't act quickly enough, the LDP would be declared unsound or withdrawn.

This would put MCC back at square one, where a new LDP may include an even greater housing target.

Councillor Bob Hayward disagreed with Cllr Greenland, stating that Monmouth's allocation of 827 houses is more than 10 per cent of Monmouth's current dwelling population.

"This additional 80 houses will break the camel's back," he said.

Councillor Hayward stated that it was the lack of infrastructure, buses and trains that simply didn't add up.

"Monmouth may have more employment (comparatively) but it's old developed businesses with no more jobs," he said.

One councillor described the developers as "hovering like vultures", stating that it's "sheer madness wanting to build on Wonastow" due to the site's propensity to flooding.

The recommendation was voted against by the council, with 21 votes against including it in the LDP and 15 for.

Among the sites discussed was Chepstow's Fairfield Mabey, which would provide an additional 110 units to the current proposal, overall accounting for 350 units.

Council Officer George Ashworth said: "This is the least bad solution," listing walking distance to the town's centre as one positive.

But concerns over the proposal were considerable.

These included the pollution on the A48, which is currently in breech of air quality regulations with excess concentration of nitrogen dioxide.

Fears were raised that the extra dwellings would add to the already inflated pollution levels.

If the proposed units went ahead the daily traffic movements along the A48 were speculated to reach 15,000.

Councillor Hayward felt strongly about the matter:

"The LDP is flawed as it's trying to put too many houses in too many individual sites" he said.

"Buildings are all about timing; we need to put infastructure in first, houses to follow."

Councillor Peter Farley agreed.

"The site is a relatively good site but the infrastructure around that site is an impossibility," he said.

"Maybe, if form follows function, perhaps infrastructure will follow development, but I remain to be convinced."

The council voted the recommendation into the LDP, with 22 votes for and 13 against.