Denbighshire’s Local Development Plan looks a step closer to becoming reality after councillors, meeting at County Hall, Ruthin on Friday voted to approve the document and formally submit it for consideration by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Planning Inspectorate.
The decision will provide an opportunity for all the issues raised during the whole process to be thoroughly reviewed by an independent Planning inspector, especially those issues identified by objectors to the Plan, whilst examining all the relevant evidence in detail.
It is a statutory requirement for the Council to produce a Local Development Plan, providing an up to date policy against which future planning applications can be considered and guidance provided.
The proposals provide opportunities for 7,500 new properties across the county and 50 hectares of employment land and designates land at Bodelwyddan as a Key Strategic Site for mixed use development.
Councillor Sharon Frobisher, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: “This has been an extremely lengthy process which has involved vast amounts of consultation with members of the public and representatives from local communities.
“Work began on this process in 2006 and a LDP Members Working Group has played a fundamental role in developing policies and allocations for development, which have been supported by Full Council at key stages of the process.
“We felt it was vital that people had ample opportunity to comment on our proposals. We have considered all comments received and wherever possible we have included changes or comments suggested.
“We acknowledge that there has been some opposition to some of the proposals, in particular a number of issues around our plans for the key strategic site at Bodelwyddan. Some objectors raised questions around the development, its scale and issues such as the impact on the Welsh language and culture. We have tried to allay those concerns through public meetings and regular contact with the local community.”
