The Swansea Council Planning Committee met to discuss planning applications and an application to register land as a town or village green, ultimately approving the planning recommendations and dismissing the village green application. Councillor Paul Lloyd, Chair of the Planning Committee, presided over the meeting.

Planning Applications

The committee approved two planning applications under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990¹:

• 158 Danygraig Road, Port Tennant - The committee approved the change of use from a vacant ground floor takeaway with residential accommodation to a six-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO). The proposal includes removing a rear extension and outbuilding to provide one off-road parking space.
• 16 Bryn Road, Clydach - The committee approved the change of use from a dwelling house to a five-bed HMO and an increase in the height of the rear store.

158 Danygraig Road, Port Tennant

The application for 158 Danygraig Road was called in by local ward members and a petition of objection. The initial proposal was for a seven-bed HMO, but was subsequently amended to six beds.

The planning officer, Hayley Kemp, noted that a previous application for an eight-bed HMO at the same site was refused due to inadequate communal space and parking. The revised application addressed these concerns by reducing the number of occupants and providing a parking space.

The council's highways officer raised no objections, subject to conditions relating to waste and cycle storage, retention of the parking space, and a maximum of six occupants. The council ecologist welcomed the inclusion of swift boxes in the plans.

Strategic Planning and Placemaking confirmed that the proposal met the relevant HMO concentration tests², with 9.76% of properties within a 50-metre radius being HMOs, below the 10% threshold for areas outside the HMO Management Area.

Objections were received from 43 local residents, raising concerns about the number of HMOs in the area, parking, anti-social behaviour, and the impact on property values. However, the planning officer concluded that the proposal was acceptable in principle and would not have an unacceptable impact on visual amenity, residential amenity, highway safety, or local ecology.

Conditions for approval included:

• Details of bird boxes, waste, and cycle storage facilities to be submitted and approved.
• The property to be occupied by a maximum of six people.
• The parking space to be retained for parking purposes only.

16 Bryn Road, Clydach

The application for 16 Bryn Road followed a previous refusal for a six-bedroom HMO at the same address due to inadequate internal communal space. The revised application proposed a five-bedroom HMO with a shared living space.

Strategic Planning and Placemaking confirmed that the proposal met the HMO concentration tests, with 4.35% of properties within a 50-metre radius being HMOs, below the 10% threshold. The property was considered to be on a small street, but the proposal would not create a disproportionate concentration of HMOs.

Ward members Councillor Bailey and Councillor Rowlands called the application in to be determined by committee, raising concerns about parking, over-intensification, waste management, and residential amenity.

The Local Highway Authority raised no objections, subject to conditions relating to waste and cycle storage. The HMO Licensing Team confirmed that the property did not require an HMO licence but should meet the requirements of The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Wales) Regulations 2006.

Conditions for approval included:

• A maximum of five residents at any one time.
• Provision of refuse and bicycle storage.
• Implementation of ecological enhancement measures.
• External surfaces to match the existing building.
• Removal of side-facing windows in the first-floor rear wing.

Application to Register Land to the North-East of Pennard Golf Club as a Town or Village Green

The committee dismissed an application to register land to the north-east of Pennard Golf Club as a Town or Village Green. The application was made under section 15(1) of the Commons Act 2006³.

The council received the application on 10 September 2024, seeking to register land near Pennard Golf Club as a Town or Village Green. The land is registered as common land, forming part of Pennard Cliffs and Burrows. The legal test requires demonstrating that a significant number of local inhabitants have engaged in lawful sports and pastimes on the land as of right for at least 20 years.

Dr Andy Rees OBE, the applicant, questioned whether the 20-year period must immediately precede the application date and whether land within 20 metres of dwellings would be excepted land under the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW).

An inspector was appointed to review the application. The inspector maintained their original recommendation to dismiss the application. The inspector clarified that the 20-year period must end on the application date. They also concurred that CROW 2000 excludes land within 20 metres of a dwelling from public access rights.

The inspector noted that a significant portion of the land (approximately 50%) fell within this 20-metre exclusion zone. They concluded that the applicant could not demonstrate as of right use over a substantial part of the land, failing the statutory test. The inspector also raised concerns about the practicality of delineating the reduced area and assessing evidence of recreational activity within it.