News. . . .
September 15th, 2011
Cawdor site supermarket application – the final showdown?
After nearly three years of deliberations, the planning application for a supermarket on the site currently occupied by Cawdor Cars and the public car park behind it will go before the Planning Committee in Carmarthen on Thursday, 15 September.
Whatever your feelings about it, this will be the most significant development in the centre of Newcastle Emlyn in living memory and will have a huge impact on the town. Members of the public are entitled to watch the proceedings and see democracy in action, so if you care about the town, please make an effort to get to Carmarthen next week.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9.30 a.m., and other planning applications are likely to be considered at the same time, so it is not possible to give a time for when the Cawdor discussion will start.
Because of new admission procedures to Council Hall, please allow at least 10 minutes for signing in.
There have been so many appalling planning decisions in Newcastle Emlyn over the years that I expect the worst, while hoping for the best.
In the last few months in a village close to Emlyn I have witnessed someone having their planning application rejected on every point by Carmarthenshire planning department. Later, after engaging a well known company of planning consultants to resubmit the application it was miraculously successful. None of the facts had changed on the ground and the same objectors had resubmitted the same objections with unchallenged evidence.
So I’d love to think that this supermarket application would be judged on its merits or the facts or even the wishes of the majority of people in Newcastle Emlyn but I fear this will not happen.
I’ve rarely hoped I would be more wrong on anything in my life….
Jeremy Clulow
Over the 25 years I have lived in NCE I have seen the town change physically and economically in a naturally driven way. Traders have taken advantage of the Townscape Initiative – local residents have battled to save the day centre – massive community effort refurbished the playing fields. New grants are in the pipeline to other voluntary groups such as HUTS to extend and develop. The Attic Theatre goes from strength to strength.
The two schools have larger pupil numbers. There is a thriving dance school. So we have an eclectic mix of community and commerce that gives the town its unique character and atmosphere. But already large lorries block the centre of the town at times and shake the foundations of ancient buildings. The thought of adding to the already busy high street with ‘convenience’ store traffic is hard to imagine. And in preparation – months of disruptive construction vehicle traffic needed to stablise and prepare the site for the proposed store.
If you can get down to the planning meeting then do so. This is an application for private and corporate gain. It is not in the best interests of the present and future development of our market town or the visitors who choose to enjoy the many local amenities.