Posted: Mon 27th Oct 2014

Haywards Field Saved – For Now

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Monday, Oct 27th, 2014

A decision to dispose of land for the use of affordable housing in Llay has been deferred until next year.

The decision to sell off ‘Haywards Field’ at Nant Y Gaer Road in Llay has been postponed until Spring 2015 following a reassessment of Wrexham Council’s ‘public open space’.

Earlier this month a report on the controversial ‘disposal’ of Haywards Field went before the Council Executive Board, with many local campaigners arriving at the Guildhall in protest against the proposed sale of the land.

However the decision to sell off the land was deferred until November 11th to allow the new Lead Member for Housing to ‘consider concerns regarding the proposals from some Llay residents’.

In a letter sent to some Llay residents it states: “As part of Council Planning Policy a survey and assessment of public open space across the whole of Wrexham County Borough is carried out periodically. The Council last undertook such assessment in 2009 and the Planning Department are in the process of undertaking an updated survey and review of public open space is expected to be completed around Spring 2015.

“In order to ensure that any decision on the proposal for the Haywards Field site is based on the most up to date information available, the decision has been made to defer any recommendation regarding the disposal of the site until the outcome of the updated public open space assessment.”

The site at Nant Y Gaer Road, Llay was approved for inclusion within the Affordable Housing Project by Executive Board on 17 November 2009 and further approved for disposal to Wales & West Housing for affordable housing development on 11 December 2012.

Initially it was proposed that the land was used to build 21 new homes. However an amendment to the report was put forward in July 2014 proposing that the land is used for a reduced development of six x 2 bedroom houses, eight x 1 bedroom apartments and two x 2 bedroom bungalows.

However the proposed sale / disposal of the land for the use of affordable housing has been met with strong opposition from local residents, with concerns that additional housing would result in an ‘overcrowded community with no green space to enjoy’.

Petitions with over 2000 signatures have also been sent to Wrexham Council objecting to the proposals.

Cllr Ian Roberts, Lead Member for Housing stated earlier today: “As a newly appointed Lead Member for Housing I was aware of concerns regarding these proposals from some Llay residents, particularly around the loss of Public Open Space. For this reason I announced that I would defer presenting a report to Executive Board until 11th November in order that I could consider the background to the proposals and the issues around the loss of open space.

“As part of Council Planning Policy a survey and assessment of public open space across the whole of the County Borough is carried out periodically. The Council last undertook such an assessment in 2009. It is essential that any decision on the proposal for the Haywards Field site is based on the most up to date information available. The Planning Department is in the process of undertaking a review of Public Open Space which is expected to be completed around spring 2015. I have therefore taken the decision to defer any recommendation regarding the disposal of Haywards Field until the outcome of the updated assessment.”

There is currently no set date as to when the new report will go before the Council Executive Board – however a ‘Public Open Space’ review is expected to be completed by Spring 2015.

More information on the Save Haywards Field campaign can be found on Facebook here or by following @SaveHField on Twitter.



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