Libra House Caswell Road Caswell Swansea SA3 3BS

1. 1.The development, by reason of its elevated nature, scale and prominent siting within a countryside setting, appears visually intrusive and overly dominant and forms a discordant feature within this sensitive location that fails to conserve or enhance the natural beauty of the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), resulting in harm to the visual amenities of the area, contrary to Policies PS 2 and ER 4 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025).
2. 2.The proposal has not been supported by a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) or any assessment relating to seascape effects, as required for tourism related development under LDP Policy TR 1. In the absence of this information, the application fails to demonstrate that the wider landscape and seascape is not adversely affected by the proposed development. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies PS 2, ER 4 and TR 1 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025) and the Council's 'Placemaking Guidance for the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' SPG.
3. 3.The external staircase, by reason of its elevated position and close proximity to the first floor side facing windows of Libra House, and the habitable room windows within the rear elevation of the Redcliffe Apartment building, directly overlooks into these buildings, resulting in a loss of privacy and amenity to the occupiers of these properties, contrary to Policy PS 2 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025).
4. 4.The proposed development, by virtue its close proximity to neighbouring residential properties combined with the noise and disturbance created by the levels of 'comings and goings' associated with the proposal and by users of the proposed development (particularly at unsocial hours), is to the detriment of the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers, contrary to Policies RP 1 and PS 2 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025).
5. 5.The proposed development is not served by any adequate dedicated car-parking facilities. The absence of appropriate car parking facilities increases the likelihood of indiscriminate parking within the vicinity of the site (which would be detrimental to highway and pedestrian safety and the free flow of local traffic) and would also give rise to additional pedestrian movements along Caswell Road, which given its lack of formal pedestrian facilities would be to the detriment of pedestrian safety. The proposed development is therefore considered to be contrary to Policies PS 2, T 1 and T 6 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025).
6. 6.The applicant has failed to provide a Tourism Needs and Development Impact Assessment pertaining to the proposal and insufficient information has been provided to demonstrate that the development is economically viable, that a countryside location is essential or that the proposal could not be accommodated within or adjoining an existing settlement, that the development avoids significant adverse impacts on natural heritage, landscape character, or the residential and environmental amenity of the locality. The proposal therefore represents unjustified development in the open countryside, contrary to Policies PS 1, PS 2, CV 2, TR 1 and TR 3 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025).
7. 7.The application has failed to demonstrate that the proposed development has not had an adverse impact on the trees that lie within or adjacent to the site, contrary to Policy ER 11 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025) and the Council's 'Trees Hedgerows and Woodlands' SPG.
8. 8.The applicant has failed to provide a Preliminary Ecological Assessment and a Green Infrastructure Statement pertaining to the proposed development. It has therefore not been demonstrated that the scheme has not had a harmful impact upon protected species, or that it will deliver a net benefit to biodiversity and ecosystem resilience and an integrated network of Green Infrastructure. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policy 9 of Future Wales: The National Plan, Policies PS 2, ER 2, ER 8 and ER 9 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025) and the Council's 'Biodiversity and Development' SPG.
9. 9.The applicant has failed to demonstrate that the development would not increase light pollution and therefore would not have an adverse impact on the designated 'dark sky', the local seascape and protected species, contrary to Policies RP 3 and ER 8 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (2010-2025) and the Council's 'Placemaking Guidance for Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' SPG.

From the council's decision notice.

Postcode

SA3 3BS

Application type

Full Plans

Scale / size

Small

Parish

Bishopston Community Council

Date validated

12 November 2024

Consultation expiry

29 July 2025

Consultation start

8 July 2025

Consultation end

29 July 2025

Neighbour consultation start

14 November 2024

Neighbour consultation end

5 December 2024

Target decision date

7 January 2025

Agent address

3 Ddol Road Dunvant Swansea SA2 7UB

Statutory period

56 days

Site notice start

15 November 2024

Site notice end

6 December 2024

Planning Portal ID

PP-13361968

Documents

21

Constraints

44