Here is a summary of the agenda for the Planning Policy Committee meeting of Isle of Anglesey Council, scheduled for 10 September 2025. The committee was scheduled to review the outcome of a call for sites, consider reports on sustainability and habitats regulations, and discuss the annual monitoring report. Councillor Ieuan Williams, Chair of the committee, was scheduled to preside over the meeting.

Annual Monitoring Report

The committee was scheduled to consider the draft Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) 2024-25 prior to its submission to the Welsh Government. The report was compiled by the Planning Policy Team and was intended to present a summary of the key findings including:

• Permission had been granted for 88 new residential units during 2024/25.

• 249 units were completed in 2024/25, exceeding the indicative Average Annual Requirement of 232 units for Anglesey.

• 104 affordable housing units were completed in 2024-25, representing 41.76% of the total completions for the year.

• 2,697 units have been completed in Anglesey between 2011/12 and 2024/25, while the trajectory anticipated 3,231 units.

• 63% of the housing units permitted during the AMR period are within Urban Service Centres, 16% within Local Service Centres, and 19% in Villages, Clusters and Open Countryside.

• One affordable housing exception site was permitted, along with one rural enterprise dwelling and one Grade II listed outbuilding enabling development.

• 44% of the units granted permission and completed since the Plan's adoption are affordable units, totaling 496 affordable units out of 1134 total units.

• No planning applications were approved for 'highly vulnerable development' in accordance with Technical Advice Note 15[^2] (TAN15).

  [^2]: Technical Advice Notes (TANs) are issued by the Welsh Government to supplement Planning Policy Wales. They provide technical guidance to local planning authorities on specific planning topics.

• Eight planning applications were permitted on safeguarded employment sites in accordance with Policy CYF1, all associated with use classes B1, B2, and B8[^3].

  [^3]: In planning, use classes B1, B2, and B8 refer to different categories of business and industrial activities. B1 is for office, research and light industrial; B2 is for general industrial; and B8 is for storage and distribution.

• The rate of economic growth on the Isle of Anglesey increased since the previous AMR and was higher than the Welsh average during the AMR period.

• There was a 9.6% increase in the overall number of commuters from Anglesey to Gwynedd during the last AMR period.

• Permissions were granted for a range of employment uses, including tourism sites, new business and retail units, childcare units, and agricultural developments, reflecting a strategic objective to facilitate diversity in the rural economy.

• 13 out of 19 appeals to PEDW[^4] were dismissed, representing a 68.4% appeal dismissal rate.

  [^4]: Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) is an agency that makes decisions on planning and environment matters in Wales.

The report also noted that house completions for the period exceeded those of previous years, but overall completions remained below target figures. It was stated that the policies are facilitating a variety of small businesses to establish, and that the policies appear to be performing well in the consideration of planning appeals. The AMR only reports data from Anglesey, given the termination of joint working arrangements with Gwynedd Council in April 2023.

Integrated Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats' Regulations Assessment

The committee was scheduled to consider a report summarising the consultation responses to the Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (ISA) and Habitats' Regulations Assessment (HRA) scoping reports. The ISA Scoping Report sets out the framework for undertaking the later stages of the ISA. A five-week consultation period was run, generating one response from Heneb: The Trust for Welsh Archaeology, alongside responses from statutory consultees. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Cadw were consulted on the ISA Scoping Report. NRW's response made observations about flood risk, protected sites, water quality and designated landscapes. Cadw's response pointed to omissions in relation to historic environment documentation, the updated legislative position and a need to provide appropriate assessment criteria to assess the protection and enhancement of historic landscapes. Heneb made observations relating to legislative changes, a key omission in relation to the Beaumaris World Heritage Site, and suggested amendments to certain sections of the scoping report to more accurately reflect the Welsh context of the subject matter.

NRW was consulted on the HRA Scoping Report. NRW agreed that the proposed approach to the HRA was reasonable and that the correct sites and sensitivities had been identified in most cases, but provided further advice that should be considered further prior to the preparation of a HRA screening report and appropriate assessment where required, relating to water quality, identification of European site features, marine mammals, North Anglesey Marine SAC, functional linkage scoping in of Dyfi Estuary SPA, dispersal distances with relation to impacts on great crested newts, and air quality and identification of sites sensitive to ammonia pollution.

Overview of the Call for Sites Process Outcome

The committee was scheduled to receive a report providing an overview of the recent Call for Sites process, undertaken as part of the preparation of the new Local Development Plan (LDP). The Call for Sites opened on 12 May 2025 for an initial six-week period, but was extended for a further six weeks due to a relatively low level of submissions. In total, 280 site submissions were received, covering a range of proposed uses including housing, employment/retail and renewable energy sites. 85% of submissions were made via the council's online submission portal, 10% via e-mail, and 5% via paper submission. The majority of sites were submitted for housing (88%), with 8% for employment/retail and 4% for renewable energy. Of the sites proposed for residential purposes, 79% proposed development of 5 or more units, 11% proposed 50 dwellings and over, and 10% proposed 100 dwellings and over. Submissions received following the closure date will be stored in a late submissions folder and may be considered should there be a shortfall of appropriate sites following the validation and assessment processes. Sites submitted on time are undergoing a validation process to ensure completeness and compliance with submission requirements. The Planning Policy Team will verify that each candidate site submission includes the standardised form, location plan/plotted boundary map, site area & address, ownership details, proposed use, and contact details. Sites are also subject to an Initial Site Filter, removing sites that are proposed for residential purposes that fall below the minimum threshold of 0.2ha (or 5 dwellings), are not within, adjacent, or closely related to an existing settlement, or are located within the flood zones identified on the constraints map. A draft Candidate Site Register and the results of the Initial filtering exercise will be brought to the committee in December 2025 prior to being published on the Council's website. Following the validation and initial filtering of Candidate Sites, a gap analysis will be undertaken to identify any shortfalls in the emerging site register. Where gaps are identified, the council may take further action, including targeted engagement with stakeholders, reconsideration of filtered sites (subject to new evidence), or additional calls for sites to address specific needs.