PLANS for a two-storey warehouse with office space on scrubland at an industrial estate have been approved despite the loss of a number of trees.
Councillors were told the “best quality” trees that form part of a local site of importance for nature conservation beside a brook will be protected but a group of mostly “lower quality” trees at the southern boundary will be lost.
Concerns were raised that the Welsh Government’s policy that lost trees are replaced at a three-to-one ratio won’t be fulfilled, but planning officer Richard Lewis said planners faced a “balancing exercise” between protecting the environment and providing a “much-needed employment” site.
The application for the vacant plot, between two existing units, at Cwmbran’s Llantarnam industrial estate, made on behalf of developers St John High Income Property linked to a New York bank, was unanimously approved by Torfaen Borough Council’s planning committee.
Pontnewydd Labour councillor Stuart Ashley questioned why the three-to-one ratio wouldn’t be achieved and said the council itself is spending “north of £800,000” on tree planting across Torfaen and asked “how does it tie in with that.”
Planning officer Richard Lewis said Cllr Ashley’s questions on trees were “warranted and something we grappled with” but reminded the committee there was no objection from environmental regulators Natural Resources Wales, subject to a construction management plan.
He said: “There’s a balancing exercise. We’ve got to balance landscape protections and a modern industrial unit that is much needed in the county borough.
“We can’t get the three-to-one ratio but we will get a modern, industrial unit that is much needed with enhanced planting of trees and will keep an important habitat and trees next to the Dowlais Brook.”
A plan for how the building, car parking and yards for lorries could fit on the site wasshown to councillors but planning officer Tom Braithwaite said it was only indicative as the application was for outline permission with detailed design, access and parking all to be confirmed through a further application.
The building will be no taller than 40 metres high, with a maximum width of 44m and no more than 94m in length.
Mr Braithwaite said a condition will require the detailed applications follow all the recommendations made in ecological surveys submitted with the current outline permission.
‘Lower quality’
He described the trees to be lost, from the site’s southern boundary, as “lower quality, mostly self-seeded” trees with a short life span and of lower ecological value and said replacements would be native trees.
There is an existing access to the site, from Lakeside Road, which was put in place for a previous permission that wasn’t taken forward.