Plaid Cymru's Benllech Ghetto? - FPL/2019/217

Cadno Môn questions comments made by Cllr Margaret Roberts in regard to Application FPL/2019/217 at the Planning & Orders Committee on 10th February 2021

The above application is for 17 affordable units located outside the Benllech village envelope heard by the committee on 10th February 2021.

However, members were given an opportunity to provide their observations and during her turn, Cllr Margaret Roberts was asked to clarify comments she made at the previous Planning & Orders Committee meeting:

that "if this application is allowed it could create ghettos."

Listen to the recording 30:00 mins exactly into the webcast:

https://ynysmon.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/538846/start_time/0

Cadno Môn would like to know:

1. Is this language really necessary?

Ghetto?

Meaning: an area of a city, especially a very poor area, where people of a particular race or religion live closely together and apart from other people

2. Could Cllr Roberts' clarification further?

"When you put homes like these on the edge of the village, young families without cars are put on the boundaries of the village so what happens is that an estate that is for local people, that is what I was considering and once that type of thing happens we create two communities in a way, a division."

3. Analysis of Cllr Roberts text

i) "When you put homes like these on the edge of the village, young families without cars are put on the boundaries of the village ...." 

a) There are no other sites
b) Young families without cars - does Cllr Roberts have a complete breakdown of the demographics (household size) of those registered in need of affordable housing to buy? Of those registered in need of affordable housing to buy, is there a requirement to declare car ownership?

ii) "....so what happens is that an estate that is for local people, that is what I was considering and once that type of thing happens...."

A planning decision notice would state that the consent is for C3 housing affordable in perpetuity, therefore, discounted to a percentage of market value. Those registered as wishing to buy affordable would presumably need to quality as it is Ynys Mon Council that curates the list. Local is qualified in the definitions for affordable housing. It is not believed language is a factor in "local." What possible concerns could Cllr Roberts have about local people?

iii) "...we create two communities in a way, a division."

None of Ynys Mon Anglesey Council planning/housing policies can discriminate. When Cllr Roberts says "...we create two communities in a way, a division" is this unconscious bias? 

4. Does Ms. Roberts want affordable housing for local people in Ynys Mon Anglesey? 

Is securing affordable units for locals not "high on the agenda" for Cllr Roberts party Plaid Cymru? There's no other affordable housing opportunity in Benllech.

5.  There are two points here. 

Firstly, there are no similar-sized land parcels in Benllech's core or fanning out on a sequential land-test basis. 

Secondly, as the land is beyond the village envelope, any housing development is automatically affordable. 

6. Has Cllr Roberts voted in relation to any other affordable housing matters in Ynys Mon Anglesey including planning policy? Does she know how planning policy works? Is this NIMBYism? 

7. There are many people in need of affordable units in Ynys Mon Anglesey. If I was at the top of the list for an affordable home in Ynys Mon Anglesey and I became aware Plaid Cymru had turned down the application for reasons that do not hold water then I would not be voting Plaid Cymru at the next local election.....no way! 

Keep checking....Cadno Môn returns soon!🦊