#newhomes — Public Fediverse posts

GOWERTON: Flood regulator says 216-home site ‘did not fully comply’ with flood guidance, then agrees flooding can be left out of the study

Natural Resources Wales has told planning inspectors that the site of 216 proposed homes at Fairwood Terrace “did not fully comply” with national flood guidance. It has also told them flooding can be left out of the developer’s environmental study.

The regulator’s letter, dated 15 September, is its reply to Persimmon’s request to limit that study to a single topic: the nutrients the homes would send towards the Burry Inlet.

It was sent two days before Swansea Council’s own reply, which asked for new wildlife surveys and said nothing on traffic.

What NRW told inspectors about flood risk at Fairwood Terrace

NRW says its advice on the original planning application was based on the Welsh Government’s flood guidance for planners as it stood at the time, the July 2004 version of the document known as TAN 15.

“The site did not fully comply with TAN15 (July 2004),” the letter says. “However, we accept that there will be no likely significant effects in relation to flood risk and it can be screened out of the ES.” The ES is the environmental statement Persimmon must write before its appeal can be decided.

The regulator takes the same view on contamination. It says there have been “no material changes” since a site investigation in March 2022, and that any risks “will be controlled through the relevant planning conditions”.

It also says the scheme would not affect the purposes of the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and that pollution during building work is covered by Persimmon’s construction management plan.

On nutrients, NRW agrees they must be studied and accepts the housebuilder’s proposed approach, provided the work “adequately addresses the requirements” of both the environmental statement and the separate habitats assessment.

A second official body questions the age of the wildlife surveys

On wildlife, NRW is less settled. It was satisfied with the ecological proposals in June 2024, but says the information “may now be considered old enough to require updating”.

“Updated ecology surveys would need to demonstrate that previously agreed mitigation was still valid,” it says. It leaves inspectors to decide whether that work sits inside the environmental statement or in a separate report.

That echoes the council’s ecology officer, who pointed out this week that most of the surveys date from 2015 to 2020, and asked for new bat, dormouse and otter surveys.

Campaigners’ 38-page case: Flood Zone 3, a missing spine road and the Trafle Mill bridge

Save Gowerton from Gridlock has filed a 38-page response with 28 appendices, asking inspectors to require nine further chapters, including transport, flood risk, air quality, ground contamination and GP capacity.

On flooding, the group says a significant part of the site now falls within River Flood Zone 3, the high-risk category, on the current Flood Map for Planning, and that NRW’s advice rests on a 22-year-old framework. It accepts the appeal may technically fall under transitional rules. NRW’s letter does not mention the current flood map.

On traffic, it says the spine road that Swansea’s development plan treats as essential to the wider Waunarlwydd and Fforestfach allocation is no longer proposed by any of the developers involved, leaving Victoria Road to take the traffic. It puts the number of homes in the planning pipeline across the corridor at 3,196.

It also wants a standalone risk assessment for the Trafle Mill railway bridge, saying April’s strike was the 35th on record and that Persimmon’s proposed pedestrian crossing would sit where debris fell. We reported that strike, and another on 7 August, when a lorry’s roof was torn open and trains were halted.

The group’s submission also points to PFOS, a so-called forever chemical, which it says NRW has recorded in the Afon Llan beside the site, downstream of the former 3M factory in Gorseinon.

Carl Jones, speaking for the group, said: “We are simply asking that the Inspectorate exercises its statutory powers to ensure the developer’s final Environmental Statement reflects the interconnected realities of our local highway capacity, drainage systems, and public health parameters, rather than an incomplete baseline.”

Inspectors can only publish a non-binding view on what the study should cover. We have not yet seen the replies from Dŵr Cymru, Network Rail, Transport for Wales or the Welsh Government’s transport directorate.

The Fairwood Terrace story so far

GOWERTON: Bats, dormice and otters put back on the table for 216 homes
The council’s reply: new wildlife surveys wanted, and silence from highways.

GOWERTON: Developer wants traffic concerns omitted from environmental study
The request all of these replies respond to, and the ten topics Persimmon wants dropped.

GOWERTON: Lorry roof peeled open as notorious Trafle Mill bridge claims another victim
August’s strike at the bridge that guards Fairwood Terrace.

Every Fairwood Terrace story
The refusal, the appeal and the environmental ruling, in order.

WA government commits $100 million to new rental apartments in Perth CBD

The WA government will spend more than $100 million on a new 30-storey apartment building in the Perth…
#Australia #Perth #affordablesocialhousing #builttorent #housingcrisis #HousingministerJohnCarey #newapartments #newhomes #newsperth #PerthCBD #perthnews #rentalhousing #socialhousing
https://www.europesays.com/australia/94909/

Have your say on plans for 240 new homes at Redbridge Paddock

Published: Wednesday, 9 September 2026 Oxford residents are being invited to view and comment on updated proposals for…
#London #Britain #UnitedKingdom #UK #GB #England #Headlines #News #Europe #EU #Redbridge #newhomes
https://www.europesays.com/gbr/london/22660/

Thousands of new green belt homes must be stopped, warns MP

Britain’s green belt land is under threat, the Conservative MP for Croydon South has warned. Chris Philp (pictured)…
#London #Britain #UnitedKingdom #UK #GB #England #Headlines #News #Europe #EU #Croydon #ChrisPhilpMP #newhomes
https://www.europesays.com/gbr/london/21618/

A win for residents on housing waiting list

Ealing Council has approved a deal to buy 95 new flats at Bollo Yard in Acton, helping more…
#London #Britain #UnitedKingdom #UK #GB #England #Headlines #News #Europe #EU #Ealing #Acton #BolloLane #BolloYard #bulkpurchase #costoflivingcrisis #newhomes #rentedhomes #socialrent
https://www.europesays.com/gbr/london/16536/

Grow your gardening credentials | The West Australian https://www.allforgardening.com/1934124/grow-your-gardening-credentials-the-west-australian/ #FrontYardGarden #FrontYardGardening #FrontYard? #Lifestyle #NewHomes #West #WestFrontYardGarden #WestFrontYardGardening

Grow your gardening credentials | The West Australian https://www.allforgardening.com/1934124/grow-your-gardening-credentials-the-west-australian/ #FrontYardGarden #FrontYardGardening #FrontYard? #Lifestyle #NewHomes #West #WestFrontYardGarden #WestFrontYardGardening

https://www.europesays.com/dk/151049/ A polished haven suited for all ages #Lifestyle #NewHomes #Norway #Oslo

https://www.europesays.com/ie/634187/ Buying your first house in Ireland, 2026 vs 2006: ‘I borrowed seven times my income’ – The Irish Times #Business #CelticTiger #CentralBank #CentralStatisticsOffice #Éire #FirstTimeBuyer #HelpToBuy #HousingCrisis #IE #Ireland #MoneyMatters #nama #NewHomes #property

High point in abbey’s housing and history project

A historic site in Acton has hit a key point in its transformation, which will bring hundreds of…
#London #Britain #UnitedKingdom #UK #GB #England #Headlines #News #Europe #EU #Ealing #community #history #homes #Housing #newhomes #toppingout #twyfordabbey
https://www.europesays.com/gbr/london/8836/

Britain doesn’t just need more homes, it needs better places

Image: © :Standart | iStock Professor Ashley Wheaton of the University of the Built Environment discusses the launch…
#EuropeSays #Britain #Europe #EU #housebuilding #Newhomes #PBCTodayAugust2026 #Placemaking #Regeneration
https://www.europesays.com/britain/89632/

https://www.europesays.com/britain/89632/ Britain doesn’t just need more homes, it needs better places #Britain #housebuilding #NewHomes #PBCTodayAugust2026 #Placemaking #Regeneration

GORSEINON: Up to 400 homes planned for former 3M factory site

Up to 400 new homes could be built on the site of Gorseinon’s former 3M factory, under early plans lodged with Swansea Council.

Developer Walters has asked the council for pre-application advice on demolishing what remains of the plant and redeveloping the land off Gorseinon Road, between Gorseinon and Penllergaer — the first formal step before a full planning application.

A vision document drawn up with architects Hammond Architectural sets out what the developer calls a “residential-led” neighbourhood combining homes, workspace, a community hub and green space on the brownfield site.

The sprawling plant was 3M’s oldest manufacturing site outside the United States, opening in 1952 and turning out everything from aerosols and adhesives to personal care products.

It closed in 2021 with the loss of 89 jobs, when the American giant moved production to sites including Bangor in Northern Ireland.

Much of the factory has since been cleared — demolition plans lodged in 2023 took in nine buildings and structures, including the site’s landmark water tower.

The new homes would be arranged around green streets and public open spaces, with around 1.5 hectares set aside for employment space alongside the businesses already operating on part of the site.

Half a hectare at the heart of the site is earmarked for a community hub that could take in community facilities, local services and small-scale shops — though the document says that depends on “future need and viability”.

Woodland open space, a greenway along the site’s embankment, a games area and drainage ponds feature in the layout, with access off Gorseinon Road and walking and cycling links to nearby bus stops and shops.

The document is frank about the hurdles: contamination from seven decades of industrial use will need investigating and cleaning up, the site’s steep level changes complicate the layout, and noise from neighbouring industrial units will need managing.

The plans are indicative at this stage — the document notes the layout and figures are “for discussion purposes and subject to ongoing technical assessment and masterplanning”.

But those 400 homes would not be arriving in an empty landscape. Few corners of Swansea are already building — and arguing over — more housing than this one.

Almost opposite the lower end of the site, Persimmon is building Garden Village — reviving a model community first conceived in the early 1900s and halted by the First World War. By last autumn just 24 of its allocated 700 homes had been built, after ancient woodland concerns forced a public inquiry — but the pace has since picked up.

Persimmon is now down to its last three homes in the 86-home first phase, marketed as Cwrt y Brenin — and has started selling a second, 110-home phase, Llys Pentre, at the far end of the vast site, where plans show a proposed primary school, playing pitches and a commercial unit.

Even the housing association sector has a stake in the same patch: land at the edge of the Persimmon site is marked for future development by Beacon — which, as Coastal Housing before its merger with RHA Wales, revealed plans for a 17-home development in Garden Village.

Alongside the site off Llewellyn Road, Barratt’s Pentref Llewelyn — named for Penllergaer’s pioneering astrophotographers John and Thereza Dillwyn Llewelyn, with Thereza believed to have taken the first known photograph of the moon — is all but sold out. Only the show home remains on the market, though Barratt’s premium David Wilson Homes brand is still selling on its half of the site, after the first homes sold within days of release.

Opposite that, Bellway’s Parc Mawr is furthest along — just one home is left on the market in its 184-home first phase, from 644 allocated across the wider site. Campaign group Preserve Penllergaer fought the allocation from the start, warning the promised primary school and relief road might never materialise.

The demand question answers itself: between them, the Persimmon, Barratt and Bellway phases ringing the 3M site have just five homes left to sell. Delivery is another matter — Swansea’s Local Development Plan promised more than 7,000 homes on its strategic sites within five years, and six years on fewer than 300 have been built.

To the south, the corridor between Penllergaer, Gowerton, Waunarlwydd and Fforestfach has become the county’s fiercest planning battleground. Campaigners warned a “continuous ribbon of housing” could stretch from Penllergaer to Gowerton when Persimmon unveiled a 600-home scheme there.

In Gowerton itself, the decade-long fight over 216 homes at Fairwood Terrace is now in the hands of a Welsh Government inspector, after councillors refused the scheme against their own officers’ advice and nearly 600 local submissions poured in. The appeal has already been dealt a blow by an order for a full environmental assessment.

Another scheme would put 230 homes near Gowerton train station. A major housing application has been lodged in Fforestfach too.

The boom runs on to Pontarddulais, where Persimmon has plans for a 500-home “zero-carbon ready” neighbourhood — approved in principle, not yet started. Another 95 homes are proposed on farmland there. A 30-home housing association scheme is also on the table.

It is not the group’s first go at giving worked-out industrial land a second act. Walters remediated and masterplanned the former Ffos Las opencast mine near Trimsaran — which the company has described as one of Europe’s deepest opencast excavations — delivering Ffos Las racecourse in 2009, the first purpose-built racecourse in Britain since 1927, with the housing handed to major builders Persimmon and Dandara.

Any full application will also run into the environmental rules now slowing schemes across north-west Swansea. Natural Resources Wales has ruled the Burry Inlet is in “unfavourable condition”, meaning larger developments in the catchment must prove they will not add nutrient pollution — a test that has already put major applications on hold, alongside national rules requiring flooding and drainage to be weighed for all new Welsh developments.

Then there are the roads. Junction 47 of the M4 — the area’s main pinch point — already operates beyond its design capacity, and Penllergaer Community Council has branded the development plan’s failure to deliver transport infrastructure “abysmal”. When a giant distribution warehouse was approved nearby in March, it came with a condition that £790,000 of junction works must be finished before it can even open. That was despite an earlier traffic light upgrade at the roundabout.

The 3M site does at least start from a different place to the green fields that have drawn the fiercest objections: it is brownfield land, and not the area’s only former factory getting a second life — along the road, the old Toyoda Gosei car parts plant is being converted into a plastics recycling centre due for completion by 2028.

As a pre-application enquiry, no decision has been made, and public consultation would follow any full application. The bigger question — where Swansea puts its next decade of homes — will be settled by the replacement development plan, with a detailed version due to be published this year.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

7,000 homes promised, just 300 built: Swansea’s housing blueprint falters
Our in-depth look at why delivery on the county’s strategic housing sites has stalled.

GOWERTON: The decade-long fight over homes, schools and mine shafts
The Fairwood Terrace saga now rests with a Welsh Government inspector.

Continuous ribbon of housing could stretch from Penllergaer to Gowerton
Campaigners’ warning as a 600-home scheme was unveiled between the two communities.

PENLLERGAER: Giant distribution warehouse approved next to M4
The decision that hinged on whether Junction 47 can cope with any more traffic.

https://www.europesays.com/ie/566358/ New luxury five-bedroom homes for sale in Foxrock in Dublin – The Irish Times #BerRating #Business #dng #DngNewHomes #Dublin18 #Éire #foxrock #IE #Ireland #NewHomes #NewToTheMarket #property

https://www.europesays.com/ie/566214/ New detached homes at upscale Enniskerry scheme, from €1.625m – The Irish Times #BerRating #Business #DngNewHomes #Éire #enniskerry #IE #Ireland #NewHomes #NewToTheMarket #property #wicklow

Councillor says plans for apartments “fall short” of what is needed for key city centre site

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/06/16/councillor-says-plans-for-apartments-fall-short-of-what-is-needed-for-key-city-centre-site/

Councillor says plans for apartments “fall short” of what is needed for key city centre site

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/06/16/councillor-says-plans-for-apartments-fall-short-of-what-is-needed-for-key-city-centre-site/

Councillor says plans for apartments “fall short” of what is needed for key city centre site

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/06/16/councillor-says-plans-for-apartments-fall-short-of-what-is-needed-for-key-city-centre-site/

Melbourne’s booming north calls for new hospital and extended train line as population surges

A group of councils in Melbourne’s north is calling on the state government to spend $45 million to…
#Australia #Melbourne #housing #infrastructurevictoria #Melbournehousingaffordability #Melbourne'souternorth #newhomes #northerncouncilsalliance #northernhospital #northernsuburbs #outersuburbanroads #suburbandevelopment #suburbanexpansion
https://www.europesays.com/australia/31783/

https://www.europesays.com/ie/529923/ Apartments and penthouses at new Mount Merrion development from €530,000 – The Irish Times #apartment #Business #Éire #IE #Ireland #MountMerrion #NewHomes #property #savills

https://www.europesays.com/ie/519482/ Two-, three- and four-bed homes for sale at new development in Kilternan – The Irish Times #Business #dublin #durkan #Éire #IE #Ireland #KellyWalsh #kilternan #NewHomes #NewToTheMarket #property #savills

LLANNON: 47 new affordable homes completed near Cross Hands in housing association’s first self-built development

A total of 47 affordable homes have been completed in the village of Llannon, near Cross Hands, in a first for one of the region’s biggest housing associations.

The development is the first to be built by Beacon Cymru under its own “self-delivery” model, rather than being handed to an external contractor.

The Swansea-based association — formerly known as Coastal Housing before its rebrand — said managing the build itself had given it greater control over design, quality and costs.

The new homes are a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses and bungalows.

All have been built to Welsh Government standards and achieved the top EPC A energy rating.

Renewable technology, including solar panels, has been fitted to help keep energy bills down for the people moving in.

The scheme was not a simple one to build. The site falls by 16 metres from top to bottom, a level difference the association said had added complexity to the project.

Despite that, Beacon said the development had been completed on time.

The homes were funded through the Welsh Government’s Social Housing Grant.

The association said it had used a largely local supply chain on the build, keeping much of the investment in the area and creating work and training opportunities through its subcontractors.

Rhianydd Jenkins, executive director of development and growth at Beacon, said the project marked a major milestone for the association.

She said building its first self-managed development had shown the strengths of the approach, and that the association was proud of its work with local partners.

She added that the success of the scheme had cleared the way for Beacon’s next self-delivered project, at Swansea Waterfront.

Beacon was formed through the merger of housing associations operating across south Wales, and has a string of developments in the pipeline, including city-centre flats in Swansea.

The Llannon homes add to a growing number of affordable housing schemes being brought forward across the region as associations and councils try to tackle a shortage of social housing.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Planned merger of two Welsh housing associations moves forward with key appointments
How the association behind the Llannon homes was formed.

Former Sancta Maria Hospital to be demolished under new plans for 42 affordable flats in Uplands
Another major affordable housing scheme planned for the region.

Work starts on new homes and business hub at Swansea’s Kings Lane
Construction under way on another city housing project.

People could be living at the former Gwalia housing office under plans by Coastal Housing
Earlier plans from the association now known as Beacon.

Plans for three new homes on land in Alrewas rejected

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/22/plans-for-three-new-homes-on-land-in-alrewas-rejected/

Plans for three new homes on land in Alrewas rejected

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/22/plans-for-three-new-homes-on-land-in-alrewas-rejected/

Plans for three new homes on land in Alrewas rejected

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/22/plans-for-three-new-homes-on-land-in-alrewas-rejected/

https://www.europesays.com/ie/496858/ New homes for sale by the sea in Donabate, Co Dublin from €550,000 – The Irish Times #Business #donabate #dublin #Éire #IE #Ireland #NewHomes #NewToTheMarket #property #savills

Housing and care home plans drawn up for land in Mile Oak

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/16/housing-and-care-home-plans-drawn-up-for-land-in-mile-oak/

Housing and care home plans drawn up for land in Mile Oak

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/16/housing-and-care-home-plans-drawn-up-for-land-in-mile-oak/

Housing and care home plans drawn up for land in Mile Oak

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/16/housing-and-care-home-plans-drawn-up-for-land-in-mile-oak/

https://www.europesays.com/ie/484396/ New apartments in bespoke Sandymount village scheme from €550,000 – The Irish Times #apartment #Business #CoastalLiving #DART #downsizing #Dublin4 #Éire #HookeMacdonald #IE #Ireland #NewHomes #NewToTheMarket #property

Increased housing target could see council push back new Local Plan for Lichfield and Burntwood

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/06/increased-housing-target-could-see-council-push-back-new-local-plan-for-lichfield-and-burntwood/

Increased housing target could see council push back new Local Plan for Lichfield and Burntwood

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/06/increased-housing-target-could-see-council-push-back-new-local-plan-for-lichfield-and-burntwood/

Increased housing target could see council push back new Local Plan for Lichfield and Burntwood

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/05/06/increased-housing-target-could-see-council-push-back-new-local-plan-for-lichfield-and-burntwood/

https://www.europesays.com/ie/465795/ Former Knight Frank partners launch new agency #Business #Éire #IE #Ireland #KnightFrank #NewHomes #StratfordUponAvon

Plans submitted for 69 new homes on land in Kings Bromley

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/29/plans-submitted-for-69-new-homes-on-land-in-kings-bromley/

Plans submitted for 69 new homes on land in Kings Bromley

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/29/plans-submitted-for-69-new-homes-on-land-in-kings-bromley/

Plans submitted for 69 new homes on land in Kings Bromley

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/29/plans-submitted-for-69-new-homes-on-land-in-kings-bromley/

Next phase of Handsacre housing development to begin

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/25/next-phase-of-handsacre-housing-development-to-begin/

Next phase of Handsacre housing development to begin

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/25/next-phase-of-handsacre-housing-development-to-begin/

Report backs plans for new housing development in Whittington

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/22/report-backs-plans-for-new-housing-development-in-whittington/

Report backs plans for new housing development in Whittington

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/22/report-backs-plans-for-new-housing-development-in-whittington/

Report backs plans for new housing development in Whittington

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/22/report-backs-plans-for-new-housing-development-in-whittington/

Council chiefs refuse planning permission for four new homes

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/21/council-chiefs-refuse-planning-permission-for-four-new-homes/

Council chiefs refuse planning permission for four new homes

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/21/council-chiefs-refuse-planning-permission-for-four-new-homes/

Council chiefs refuse planning permission for four new homes

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/21/council-chiefs-refuse-planning-permission-for-four-new-homes/

Proposals could see former pub converted for residential use

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/17/proposals-could-see-former-pub-converted-for-residential-use/

Proposals could see former pub converted for residential use

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/17/proposals-could-see-former-pub-converted-for-residential-use/

Property could be demolished to make way for new home

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/13/property-could-be-demolished-to-make-way-for-new-home/

Property could be demolished to make way for new home

https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/13/property-could-be-demolished-to-make-way-for-new-home/

8,500 homes to be built in scenic English region – new ‘garden town’ | UK | News https://www.allforgardening.com/1702544/8500-homes-to-be-built-in-scenic-english-region-new-garden-town-uk-news/ #construction #essex #garden #GardenTown #Gilston #hertfordshire #NewHomes #NewTown #Towns