Planning Committee Decision Template

Flintshire's Planning Committee will meet on Wednesday 11th June 2025 at 2pm to determine the planning application for 300 homes in between Gladstone Way and Ash Lane. Below is a template which you can use to send to the members of the Committee who will vote on the proposal:

Dear Flintshire Planning Committee members,

I am writing as a local resident to urge you to vote to reject the proposed development of 300 houses in between Ash Lane and Gladstone Way, Hawarden, reference FUL/000195/24.

1) Lack of infrastructure to support such a large-scale development

It is no secret that our local infrastructure is already stretched to breaking point. Local residents are unable to get doctors appointments, whilst NHS dental provision is nearly impossible to source in the local area. Local schools are already very close to, or at full, capacity and there are no plans to provide any Section 106 funding to Sandycroft CP school which will clearly be impacted by such a large development within close proximity to the school. Our community cemetery, managed by Flintshire County Council, on Cross Tree Lane, is very close to closing for new burials because it is so close to full capacity. Given the current state of this infrastructure, how could you countenance making this worse?

2) Overly dense, urban-character development

Hawarden and Mancot are villages, and the housing density of existing development in the area reflects this. Historic villages like Hawarden generally have a housing density of 20 houses per hectare, and indeed the relatively recent development locally on Overlea Drive has a housing density in this range. This proposed development proposes a housing density of 38 houses per hectare, nearly double what is normal for the surrounding area. The papers for the meeting say that the proposed net density of 38 units per hectare is 'appropriate' for policy HN2. But HN2 also caveats that the density should relate to local context. As proposed, this development does not relate to local context.

This represents an overly dense development which is urban in character and incongruous with the local setting. The developer has, despite being asked to provide them by residents and the Community Council, continued to refuse to provide detailed 3D impressions, site elevation drawings, or photo-realistic images. This same developer, Castle Green Homes, has provided these for other developments submitted to Flintshire County Council, so why not this one? Because they know that to provide you with the full picture will starkly illustrate just how inappropriately dense this proposal is.

To approve this application without the developer bothering to provide this information would be a dereliction of duty.

3) Coalescence of two distinct communities

Hawarden and Mancot are two distinct villages and this is recognised across the local community. The proposed development would clearly, to all intents and purposes, coalesce the two settlements. The Council's planning department, and the LDP Inspector, claim that the villages are already coalesced courtesy of a few overlapping back gardens, but this is an overly draconian and literal interpretation which fails to take into account the local context.

4) Road Safety and traffic concerns

If you have spent any time in Hawarden and Mancot, you will be aware that our local road network is already congested and well-used, particularly Glynne Way and Gladstone Way. Glynne Way has been subject to pollution monitoring in 2016 which showed that there were 34.0 micrograms per cubic meter of Nitrogen Dioxide in the air (with the UK legal limit being 40.0 micrograms per cubic metre). In that year, 56 sites in Flintshire were monitored, and Glynne Way had some of the highest levels of pollution. The road is also soon to be subject to a speed monitoring survey because of concerns raised by local residents in relation to dangerous driving and speeding traffic.

The Council is well aware of the problems on Cross Tree Lane at school pick-up and drop-off times, with the road becoming increasingly dangerous for local schoolchildren. A significant part of the problem in this location is that because of the level of congestion on Glynne Way, Cross Tree Lane is regularly used as a short cut or 'rat run' to skip out the busiest part of Glynne Way. The proposed site is just a stones-throw away from Cross Tree Lane, and will clearly exacerbate existing road safety, traffic, and pollution problems.

5) Flooding in the local area

Lower Mancot and Sandycroft have consistently been the subject of damaging flood events, with some residents forced to leave their homes and live in hotels, others have had to spend thousands on repairs, whilst some residents are now finding it increasingly difficult to secure home insurance because of their susceptibility to flooding. This proposed development is at the top of the hill and the developer proposes to use the existing drainage and sewerage network heading downhill to Mancot and Sandycroft. The local community is terrified that this proposal will contribute to further flooding of homes in the local area, and we question whether the developer's reliance on attenuation ponds and little-tested SUDs scheme will be sufficient.

6) Refusal to listen to the local community

This is the most unpopular development in Flintshire's history: the largest petition in the county's history at the time, hundreds of placards across the local villages, and the highest number of objections to an application in recent history. Our community has, for years, repeatedly raised our serious concerns with this proposal, and have been continually ignored at every stage. 

As elected members, this is your final opportunity to listen to us and act accordingly. Please choose to stand with the people you are elected to represent and reject this reckless proposal on Wednesday.

Yours Sincerely,

[Insert name here]

[Insert address here]