Guilsfield to make official complaint over houses plan

Guilsfield Community Council will make a formal complaint to Powys County Council over its “inadequate planning process” that saw the green light given to a new housing development without their input.

Last month, the regional authority gave permission for nine dwellings to be built on the site of the former Fairview Garage in the heart of the village.

But the community council said it was only informed of the decision being discussed the evening before the planning meeting, and that they had been told by a planning officer earlier in the year that it would be placed on hold until after the pandemic so that a public consultation could be held.

The village planners were so incensed that they were considering a judicial review, but Chairman, Cllr Ian Harrison, said it would be too costly at last night’s monthly council meeting.

“We made some enquiries and the legal advice we received told us that a judicial review would cost anything in the region of £20,000-£40,000, and if we lost we would pick up significant charges of the defending planning authority,” he said.

“We have decided not to pursue that option as the risk is too high.”

Cllr Harrison has instead liaised with Planning Aid Wales who have advised that the council make a formal complaint to Powys in the first instance about the “failure of the process”.

“I propose that we write to the Monitoring Officer, Clive Pinney, who is also the Powys County Council solicitor, to complain about their inadequate planning process and to highlight how the community council was treated during a national emergency.” 

During the Powys discussions last month to approve the development, which will consist of two and one-bedroom apartments, it was revealed that the planning officer who had previously assured Guilsfield Community Council that it would not go ahead until after the pandemic had left their post, with a new officer now taking the application forward.