4.      Planning applications: 2008/1701 Land off School Lane.  SW asked if RCC were happy with the proposal.  RCC said they were not and then went on to decide why they weren’t and what that they would say to SCC.  Unitary Development Plan has been studied between meetings, to give reasonable arguments to SCC.  SW said we need to say is it in a small village, or is it in open countryside as there is only the School between the plot and the Common.  EV20.  Development is large and dormer bungalow is not a Gower style, land used to be agricultural and would harm neighbouring residents during construction and value of properties.  Without visibilyit splay line by plot, EV12, would make dangerous.  SCK said agree with SW, about EV16 or EV20 and danger to highway.  Also making street linear.  SCK mentioned whether second home.  There are properties that are suitable to fulfil the need that this developer has would be better to buy one of them than build a new one.  How do we proceed from here?  Preserve irregular pattern of development within the village.  Do we mention the design of the proposal.  Don’t believe that  dormer bungalow is a traditional Gower dwelling.  Won’t enhance the visual aspect of the area.  It will impact on the visual landscape from the coast and from Rhossili Down.  RCC drafted the following letter to be sent to SCC.

We would like to make the following points regarding the proposed development.  The development does not conform to the policies and guidelines as set out in the Swansea UDP.

We further believe that the development should be treated as a ‘development in open countryside’ due to its siting on former market gardening/agricultural land and the fact that it is on the outskirts of Middleton (with only the School between the development and Rhossili Down) (Policy EV20) and as such cannot be allowed.

However, if the ruling is within a ‘small village’ there are still problems with the development as it contravenes much if not all of EV16 guidelines.

• A dormer bungalow is not native to Gower and this application is for a particularly big dormer bungalow.  The footprint is twice as large as that as its neighbour Sheep Green, which we do consider a traditional Gower property.

• Construction on this site will have a detrimental impact on the view from below and above the site and would mean loss of open green space within the village.  We consider that open spaces and gaps within the village form part of the character and this application would have a detrimental affect on the amenity of the village.  This development will work directly against the spatial strategy by allowing encroaching urbanisation on rural countryside (contravenes policy EV12).

• This development would also affect the amenity of local residents by reducing the visual amenity and character of the lane.

We believe that this development can only be accessed safely by introducing visibility splays into School Lane.  This would be in direct contravention to policy EV12.  Without these splays the safety of the public would be put at risk as this is a well used lane for accessing Rhossili Down by pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists etc.  Many of these will be tourists who are not familiar with the local environment and in many cases these could be children staying at the activity centre next door.  We do not see how safety could be maintained without detriment to the character of the village.

If the development is allowed to go ahead, it would set a dangerous precedent for both Middleton and Gower.  It would open the way for ribbon development within ‘small villages’ and encourage the development of small green field sites within the AONB villages with the detrimental effect this will have on their character, environmental and natural heritage.  There are currently properties for sale within the community of Rhossili that are of a similar size and could meet their needs.