A plan to demolish an existing workshop and erect a new bedroom house in Rhayader, has been recommended for refusal by the town council

Applicant Mr Roger Willet wants to use land at the rear of Claremont on East Street to develop the family house.

In his application Mr Willet said there would be a new connection to the existing drainage system and the current access if from Dark Lane between the leisure centre and the property Trederwen.

He said the access would be upgraded to a 5m wide access with a visibility splay of 20m in each direction.

Rhayader Town Council considered the application at a recent meeting which was also attended by some residents to live adjacent or close to the site.

The residents said they had not known about the application until the day of the council meeting and there had been no consultation with Mr Willet.

One resident said the access road serves several properties and he said the plans were not correct according to his deeds. He said he was concerned about disruption to the access point for many years if the development went ahead.

He said there would also be no privacy after the build had taken place and although he has no objections to someone building a house, putting a three bedroom house in that location is ridiculous. He said he also had queries about sewerage and he did not think it would be a benefit to the community at all.

Another resident said she was worried that the windows etc would look into her mum’s house, she did not think any local home owners had been consulted and the walls of the property are already bulging and she did not think they could take a house.

Rhayader Mayor Councillor Christian Walton said he would like to have the application deferred to the next meeting.

But Deputy Mayor Councillor James Stuart said he did not think anything had changed since a previous application in 2016, which the town council recommended for refusal. He said he did not see how the access could be improved.

Members agreed oppose the development and to recommend refusal of it.

Planning permission was refused in 2016 as the development would result in the increased use of a sub-standard access due to its width and visibility.  

There are already concerns with traffic on Dark Lane and there is little evidence to show how the access will be improved following the previous planning application.

Powys County Council will make a final decision on the plan by September 11.