LOCAL residents have voiced their opinion over the approval of plans for a supermarket near their village of Llanmaes by writing to the Glamorgan Star to express their own views.
The Vale Council’s planning committee recently voted to approve plans by Lidl for a supermarket on land at Bridge House Farm in between Llantwit Major and the village of Llanmaes.
This was despite the recommendations of planning officials to refuse. Many of the planning committee members argued that services were needed for the growing town of Llantwit Major and said there were not any alternative locations to build the supermarket.
Their letters:
Councillors who voted for Lidl should be ‘ashamed’
I AM entirely against the Lidl development for a number of reasons.
The ability of the councillors on the planning committee to entirely ignore the planning officer’s recommendation after two years of consideration and negotiation with Lidl, as well as ignoring their own LDP and various Welsh policies, suggests they have free reign to do whatever they please with zero accountability.
It is also a monumental waste of public money. There may well be a need for additional retail provision in the region but that should not mean that process and policy is ignored. It would be interesting to know if the vocal supporters of Lidl from Llantwit Major would be so keen on a Waitrose or M and S.
This development will fundamentally and irreversibly change the landscape of the area. The councillors who voted to approve it should be thoroughly ashamed of the legacy they will be leaving for our generations to come.
Linda Christmas
Llanmaes
Unsound planning decision
THE recent decision by the Vale Council Planning Committee to ignore the recommendation of its own planning officer and approve the building of a food store, ie Lidl, on a greenfield site in Llanmaes has left me questioning the competency of the councillors who have been entrusted to make such decisions on behalf of the residents of the local area.
Whilst they are perfectly within their rights to ignore the recommendations of the planning officer, it is my understanding that if they choose to depart from what the officer advises then they have to clearly set out their reasons for doing so.
Sadly, the planning committee has dismally failed in this regard. The minutes from the meeting held on 12th December 2024 give the reason for the decision as ‘Having regard to the content of the report and discussions at the meeting’. I watched the meeting live on YouTube and planning rules and regulations did not feature in the speeches given by the committee members when it came to making a decision.
The Labour government has only last month published a policy paper ‘Planning Reform Working Paper: Planning Committees’ in which it states that “there can be insufficient understanding among all committee members of planning principles and law, inhibiting their ability to make decisions in line with these principles and law, in turn making these decisions more vulnerable to being overturned on appeal”. This is only too true in respect of the recent decision regarding Lidl.
Unfortunately, the review only applies to England, but hopefully it is something that will also be adopted in Wales. As the recent decision of the Vale planning committee shows, it is very much needed here as well.
If this development is allowed to go ahead I feel that it is likely to spoil the beauty of an area that many residents, in Llanmaes and elsewhere, value. It will adversely affect the character of Llanwit Major which is likely to see a reduced footfall in the town centre and subsequent closing of the small independent shops which make it so attractive to residents and visitors alike.
Samantha Hall
Llanmaes
No need for a Lidl in Llanmaes
IT IS a month since the planning committee went against the advice of its own planning officer and approved plans to allow Lidl to use a green field site, true farmland, in Llanmaes, a small village community in the Vale.
The site is visible from the village houses and from the well-used footpaths in the countryside surrounding us. When it is functional and lit, it will be a blot on the local landscape, causing significant light pollution.
Llantwit Major is already serviced by local shops, selling a good range of produce to meet everyday needs. There is no ‘need’ for a larger supermarket to be built on this field, it is a ‘want’. A supermarket on that site will bring extra traffic from surrounding areas and speeding cars through the lanes and the village, causing a bottle neck at the junction immediately adjacent to the site.
There are far better sites on the Northern Access road and on the business park in Llandow. The village boundary is the bypass. Development on the Llanmaes side is against planning policy and should not be allowed.
Wendy Hewitt-Sayer
Llanmaes
Any fool can see where Lidl should go
I WRITE 24 hours after a head on collision at Llanmaes traffic lights on the B4265.
Luckily, the occupants of both cars appear to have escaped unscathed. But that collision is the reason why Lidl or any other store CANNOT be allowed to be built on a narrow and dangerous country lane leading to a small village, Llanmaes.
I am still trying to puzzle out why councillors ignored the expert advice of their own planning officers to approve the application. Those officers, don’t forget, are paid from our council tax, as are the Vale councillors who sold us down the river.
So why did they do it? Is it because they had just emerged from a bruising battle in which container homes for refugee families were imposed on the area without, seemingly, any need for a planning application – a dreadful misuse of powers.
Are they trying to curry favour with the surrounding householders, who raised a magnificent sum to take the council to judicial review, but who unfortunately lost their case? Are they trying to please Llantwit Major citizens who rightly say they want more choice and cheaper food?
“Stick it there, on that field, and never mind the protests,” seems to be the view. But that’s short term in the extreme. What about looking at the bigger picture? St Athan has grown rapidly and is woefully underserved for supermarkets. As are Cowbridge and Rhoose.
The Northern Access Road is the place for supermarket development in this area. Any fool can see that. Hundreds of acres of land, earmarked for development, roads built, but nothing else done a decade after it was completed. Don’t tell us the drainage is a problem. Sort it out Welsh Government and the Vale Council, and move Lidl, Sainsburys and anyone else down there. Have a heart, use your heads, and leave Llanmaes alone.
Gail Kirkham
Llanmaes
Rural way of life is in jeopardy
LLANMAES is a unspoilt village in the Vale. It has a thriving community of like-minded people.
The ladies of Llanmaes have grouped together over the years and have raised money for a number of charities. During lock down they had a WhatsApp group ‘Llanmaes masks and sundries’, offering bespoke masks for occasions and general wear. I had all my masks made by the ladies for my mother’s funeral – she died during the pandemic. All proceeds went to charities. There is always a new project to raise money or collections for shoes and clothes offered to the Afghan and Ukraine refugees. The community as a whole, is generous and steadfast in continuing to help people less fortunate than themselves.
This is in sharp contrast to the developers and land-owners of the Lidl Field. Lidl is a multi-million business corporation built for profit. If this development is to go ahead it will ruin a community whose spirit has been broken over past events. It’s a way of life that is very rural. Surrounded by open fields, Llanmaes is an ancient settlement nestling in a small basin which will be looked down upon by a huge industrial size building where the Lidl field is situated, 50 metres from Llanmaes boundary and conservation area.
How is this allowed on a green field site with no LDP, so close to a conservation area?
The community of Llanmaes were completely overlooked (not one letter was sent to Llanmaes residents) when the land-owners and Lidl sent a ‘rallying’ letter to all the houses of Llantwit Major. This included a list of councillors and their e-mails to encourage them to write in their support for the store. Just days before!
The planning officers’ reasons for refusal of the development. Includes road safety at that particular junction, which is blind coming into the village. There are near misses nearly every day as they race the lights at an accelerated speed where it is recommended to be 20 mph.
Another hazard at this junction is a riding school and stables in daily use right opposite. All the towns and villages from every direction will either come through this junction or through the village to shop. I dread to think what it would be like at Christmas. We already have a problem with speeding traffic that is a rat run from Cardiff and Cowbridge school at certain times of the day. The problems include HGV lorries that have been stuck in the lanes around the village and within the village. The ongoing developments in St Athan Village have been a constant hassle with lorries stuck in the lanes.
We are not ‘angry’, we are not ‘posh’, we are hard-working people who love our way of life. The village is tranquil most of the time. A pleasure to walk. The village pub is a stroll from Llantwit Major where many like to go for a meal, a drink and enjoy the events held in the summer months.
This all adds to the character of the village and a rural way of life that will be lost to the site of an industrial building like Lidl…totally out of context…against road safety and the wellbeing of both horses and riders at the school opposite.
Why do we have planning officers if their recommendations are ignored?
Janine Lee
Llanmaes
Lidl will be in the wrong place
MOST OF the villagers in Llanmaes don’t want any type of big supermarket at the entrance to their beautiful village.
The charm of the village is that it’s oldy worldly with no shops, just a little village pub and a church, no anti-social behaviour or traffic and It’s fabulous, generally only horses trotting though the little streets, or tractors from the farm!
The people in support of the supermarket don’t live in Llanmaes or understand or care about the charm it has and that charm is what attracted the residents to the village in the first place.
The Vale can clearly service a supermarket but not at the entrance to Llanmaes.
Chris Macnamara
Llanmaes
Extra traffic will harm Llanmaes
AS a resident in the village of Llanmaes for six years, driving and walking to and from the village on a daily basis, I feel well qualified to express concern about the appropriateness of the chosen site for a new Lidl store.
We have very limited paved footways through the village where there are numerous pinch points restricting traffic flow to a single vehicle width. The 20 mph is frequently ignored by traffic driving through. The regular traffic on the network of lanes comprises resident vehicles, delivery traffic, agricultural vehicles accessing the fields, horse riders, cyclists ( which at weekends includes numerous organised groups together with motorists using the lanes as short cuts towards the A48 and beyond.
I fear that the councillors who supported this application are very naive in thinking traffic to the store is not going to have a significant impact on both the village of Llanmaes and traffic using the traffic light junction. They also seem to be oblivious to the fact that road traffic accidents are bound to happen, with a risk of serious injury to pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and drivers.
Is ‘Cheap food’ worth this? Save a few £££ or save a life.
Beth Pocock
Llanmaes
Llanmaes lacks the infrastructure to support Lidl
I AM writing to express my disappointment regarding the recent approval for the construction of a new Lidl store within our village.
While I recognize the potential benefits such a development could bring, including job creation and local shopping options, the decision has not adequately considered the detrimental impact on traffic through the village and is in the wrong location in my opinion.
Our community already struggles with congestion, particularly during peak hours. The narrow roads and limited infrastructure are ill-equipped to handle the inevitable increase in traffic this store will generate. Deliveries from large vehicles, combined with an influx of shoppers, will exacerbate existing issues, creating safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists, especially schoolchildren who regularly travel along these routes.
Despite objections raised by local residents, it seems these valid concerns have been overlooked. This decision appears short-sighted, prioritising commercial development over the quality of life and safety of the community.
I urge the council to reconsider this decision and take immediate steps to address the traffic concerns. Whether through improved infrastructure or alternative plans, it is essential that our village’s needs are prioritized before irreversible harm is done. I hope you will take our concerns seriously.
Rik Stevens
Llanmaes
Llanmaes residents have been let down
I WOULD like to respond to the article regarding the Lidl development in Llanmaes.
My first point is that Llanmaes residences are not against a Lidl in the area but not in this location (in the village of Llanmaes). There are other sites available that do not impact on a rural location, and would be safer with regards to traffic danger.
Next – why was the planning officer’s recommendation ignored? I also feel that voting in the meeting was weighted as to appease the local Llantwit community with regards to the development on the old Eagleswell school site. A truly political move. Disgraceful.
If residents of Llantwit are in favour of a supermarket development, then surely it should be built in Llantwit not Llanmaes village? As Cllr Smith stated: “It is especially unfair that the proposal apparently hinged on the support of people from larger settlements and not those within our community”. It’s like saying that I could have a vote about something that didn’t affect me. Madness.
I would like to end with the facts that I am not in favour of the development of Lidl in Llanmaes for so many reasons. It is an unsafe location, it is a small village, it will have huge impact on the environment by causing light noise pollution etc. And it is so unfair, Llanmaes residents have not been represented properly by some of their local council representatives.
Sue Stevens
Llanmaes
There are more suitable sites for Lidl
THE location of the planned Lidl store is completely wrong. Contrary to popular belief and application the site is in Llanmaes and not Llantwit Major.
The entrance to the village of Llanmaes is very narrow with, in some areas only passing places. I live in Llanmaes and each time I enter the village from the direction of the traffic lights I often have to stop to allow traffic to pass.
The planned entrance to the Lidl store is immediately opposite a horse riding stables. Children walk this area to and from school where there is only a path on one side of the road. There have already been several accidents on this busy main road junction.
There are other more suitable sites which Lidl should have considered just a few hundred yards away just off the Northern Access Road which would serve the wider community of the ever-growing St. Athan and Llantwit Major with much safer access
Jackie Wright
Llanmaes
Got something to say? Use the form below and tell 33,000 other readers in the next edition of the Glamorgan Star:
Send us your News, Sport, Events, Letters and Advertising here.
⭐ All of our social media in one handy place – here
Former Barry office building transformed into vital new homes
Prolific thief banned from entering shops in Barry
I’m proud that all parties agreed on children in care plan
Royal Welsh highlights the role of the rural economy
Parent may have to lose job for school run
Double victory for Pencoed cricketers
