Sully residents’ concerns over holiday park proposal
RESIDENTS living near Hayes Road in Sully have expressed concerns about proposals to build a large holiday park on land between Tŷ Hafan children’s hospice and Beechwood College.
The land was recently acquired by fairground impresario Henry Danter, who already owns Barry Island Pleasure Park, and shortly after buying the land he revealed plans to convert the area into a holiday park with different types of accommodation including log cabins, camping facilities and towed caravans.
The site was formerly owned by BP but has been derelict for many years and work has already begun to improve the appearance of the site.
Mr Danter said he felt Barry was badly lacking adequate accommodation for holidaymakers, who were forced to stay elsewhere when visiting his pleasure park and the beach: “We have to think of ourselves as being in the same league as Brean and Minehead in terms of offering the complete package for holidaymakers, with lots to see and do in the pleasure park and on the beach, but also to have somewhere to stay.
“I’m getting loads of enquiries from people who want to come to Barry Island but can’t find anywhere to stay, so we need to put that right,” he said.
Mr Danter’s planning application is awaiting certain documentation before it goes to the consideration process, which in itself could take up to eight weeks.
However, affected parties have concerns that the location is unsuitable for a large holiday park, with it being close to Tŷ Hafan, which provides a tranquil setting for children with life-limiting illnesses and their families, and Beechwood College, an education facility for young adults with an Autistic Spectrum Condition.
Tŷ Hafan issued a statement which said: “As a provider of care services to vulnerable children and young adults, we have not seen any details yet, so have not had an opportunity to understand fully what is proposed for the land immediately adjacent to our hospice and its grounds, or to scrutinise any plans.
“That notwithstanding, it goes without saying that the security, safety, privacy and tranquility of our hospice, and its sensory and memorial gardens, is of paramount importance to the children with life-shortening conditions, and their families, who use our facilities and access the unique care and support we provide 24/7.
“As a charity, and with our hospice itself located in Sully, a community that has always supported us, we hope that our concerns are obvious to businesses and members of the local community, including those who make planning decisions.
“We would invite anyone connected to the proposed development to get in touch with us so we can share information with them about what we do, and why the security, safety, privacy and tranquility of our hospice and gardens cannot, and must never, be compromised.”
Lee McCabe wrote to the Glamorgan Star and made his feelings very clear. He said: “I can only speak from personal experience with regard to what a special place Tŷ Hafan is – having spent time there with my youngest son in his final months. To be able to reflect on the horrific situation we found ourselves in as a family in the peace and tranquility that the location gave was so important to us.
“If you want to be proud of something, please do your upmost to protect the very special place you have on your doorstep for every child, for every family that needs Tŷ Hafan.”
(Mr McCabe’s letter can be read in full on page 4, Letters or here).
The proposed facility is close to Hayes Point, which consists of 236 luxury apartments in the former Sully Hospital building.
The building is managed by Hayes Point RTM Company Ltd, whose spokesman said: “In general, we favour new business initiatives into the Vale area, and naturally we want to see any formal planning application before we can give a comprehensive view of this one.
“We are, however, concerned about noise pollution, not only for our residents but also for Tŷ Hafan and Beechwood College, both of which rely on a high degree of peace and solitude.
“We understand the Welsh Government Planning Officer has previously declared that the area concerned is not suitable for residential development as it resides on a flood plain, and that the land may also be contaminated with oil and other pollutants.
“In addition, we believe the site was used as a munitions depository, in both cases the potential for explosive occurrences cannot be ignored.
“Furthermore, we are not convinced there is sufficient supportive infrastructure available for electricity, water and sewerage provision.
“Hayes Road already has congestion, flooding and stability issues – another large regular influx of vehicles will exacerbate the situation and increase the potential for congestion even further.
“We also have concerns about potentially overwhelming beach access and damage that could be caused to sea life such as porpoises and wildlife such as spotted woodpeckers, buzzards and other rare birds in the vicinity, as we understand the area has been categorised as having special scientific interest, the effect on which we cannot comment upon until we have seen the plans.”
Similar concerns were expressed by Cllr Kevin Mahoney (Independent, Sully), who said: “Every application of any sort needs to be looked at on its own merit, but I do know there have been concerns expressed by local people about the lack of infrastructure in a village that is being heavy overdeveloped already.
“The proximity to Beechwood College and Tŷ Hafan is also a cause for concern as the holiday park risks disturbing the tranquil state of their facilities and for nearby residents, and we also have to consider the poor state of the roads in that area.
“My recollection was that in 2017 the Welsh Government’s Planning Inspector, when looking into the Vale Council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) instructed the council to scrap the adjacent proposed Traveller site because it was a C2 flood zone, and the then-owners of the land Mr Danter has now bought were instructed that their application to build housing on the land was to be dismissed as well,” he said.
By MARCUS STEAD
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