‘For everything to remain as it is, everything must change’ so said Tancredi to his uncle the Prince in Lampedusa’s novel ‘The Leopard’. Is this quote a slogan for our times and appropriate for the recent Inspector’s Report on Cyngor Gwynedd’s Unitary Development Plan?
Gwynedd is a Unitary Authority, there are 22 of them in Wales, in 1995/6 with the re-organisation of Local Government in Wales all the County, District, Town/Borough and City Councils disappeared and were re-established as Unitary Authorities. Each Authority has to produce a Unitary Development Plan (UDP) or equivalent, giving in this area, the citizens of Gwynedd, businesses and all interested bodies a framework as to how the Council will deal with a myriad of situations, from planning to population demographics until at least 2016.
As expected it’s been a long complicated and arduous process. It started in about 2001. By 2004 a Draft Deposit of the UDP was ‘road showed’ around the County for a period of about six weeks in the Summer. The result of this was another weighty document, the ‘Gwynedd UDP Pre-inquiry Proposed Changes’, it landed on our desks in September 2005. The next step was to present all this work, (see photos) together with about 2,800 written comments/objections to the Plan to the Welsh Assembly Government Inspectors.
Some of what went to the Inspector.
They began their work in Caernarfon at the beginning of 2006 and had by August that year listened to or noted each and every policy, comment, proposal and aspect of the UDP. The next stage was for the Inspectors to write up the recommendations in the Inspector’s Report. This report, in the form of a CD, containing 1,307 pages was received by the Council last month.
The report’s official title :– Gwynedd Unitary Development Plan – Inspector’s Report, will have far reaching implications for many aspects of our lives here in Gwynedd. After skim reading the 1,307 pages I got the gist of where the Inspector’s Report is going and what’s recommended. The report is in the form of ‘recommendations’. What’s the meaning of ‘recommendation’, is it advice, suggestion or counsel? I suspect that although Gwynedd could in theory ignore the Report’s recommendations, the sheer weight of the Inspector’s authority will mean that the Council will accept most of these.
So what’s he flagging up in these recommendations? One of these on the ‘no, no’ list is Policy CH4 – New Dwellings in Rural Villages. This was inserted by Gwynedd to try and meet the demand by locals to build new dwellings in the vicinity of a Rural Village provided they met strict criteria. This recommendation to get rid of this policy means that it will severely restrict developments in the countryside.
Another blow to rural developments is the recommendation to re-draw more tightly the Development Boundaries, again fewer opportunities to build outside the main designated development areas.
They began their work in Caernarfon at the beginning of 2006 and had by August that year listened to or noted each and every policy, comment, proposal and aspect of the UDP. The next stage was for the Inspectors to write up the recommendations in the Inspector’s Report. This report, in the form of a CD, containing 1,307 pages was received by the Council last month.
The report’s official title :– Gwynedd Unitary Development Plan – Inspector’s Report, will have far reaching implications for many aspects of our lives here in Gwynedd. After skim reading the 1,307 pages I got the gist of where the Inspector’s Report is going and what’s recommended. The report is in the form of ‘recommendations’. What’s the meaning of ‘recommendation’, is it advice, suggestion or counsel? I suspect that although Gwynedd could in theory ignore the Report’s recommendations, the sheer weight of the Inspector’s authority will mean that the Council will accept most of these.
So what’s he flagging up in these recommendations? One of these on the ‘no, no’ list is Policy CH4 – New Dwellings in Rural Villages. This was inserted by Gwynedd to try and meet the demand by locals to build new dwellings in the vicinity of a Rural Village provided they met strict criteria. This recommendation to get rid of this policy means that it will severely restrict developments in the countryside.
Another blow to rural developments is the recommendation to re-draw more tightly the Development Boundaries, again fewer opportunities to build outside the main designated development areas.
What does all this mean? Disappointment and disillusionment for the aspiring local home owners, and the finger of blame unfairly pointed at the Council.
Another item which caught my eye, on pages 539 and 540 a reference to Policy D17 – ‘ Static Caravan and Holiday Chalet Sites – Extending the Season’. The Council wants this ‘Season’ to be ten and a half months. The obvious reason is to stop all year round occupation of holiday lets and the consequent ‘knock on’ effects in parts of the County both socially and economically. The Inspector’s recommendation – ‘ Year Round Occupation’ !
Bed-time reading for the UDP about 1ft of it!
The general ethos of the Report is metro-centric; virtually all new housing to be confined to established urban areas with development in the countryside to a large extent ignored.
I’ve only touched the top of the tip of the iceberg as far as this Inspector’s Report is concerned. I’m sure to re-visit it at some later date.
‘Os yw popeth am aros ‘run fath, mae rhaid i bopeth newid’ dyna be ddywedodd Tancredi wrth ei ewythr y Tywysog yn y llyfr gan Lampedusa ‘Y Llewpard’. A yw’r dywediad yma’n slogan ar gyfer y presennol a hefyd i Adroddiad yr Arolygydd - Cynllun Datblygu Unedol Gwynedd?
Mae Gwynedd yn Awdurdod Unedol, mae 22 ohonynt yma yng Nghymru. Yn 1995/6 gydag adrefnu Llywodraeth Leol diddymwyd bob Cyngor Dosbarth, Sir, Tref/Dinas a Bwrdeistref a lluniwyd yr Awdurdodau Unedol newydd. Mae rhaid i bob Awdurdod creu Cynllun Datblygu Unedol (CDU) neu drefn gyffelyb. Yn achos Gwynedd mae’r CDU i fod i ddangos i’r cyhoedd , busnesau a chyrff eraill, polisïau sydd am arwain y Cyngor i gymryd penderfyniadau ar nifer helaeth o bynciau, o gynllunio i newidiadau yn y boblogaeth tan o leaf 2016.
Fel y disgwylir mai wedi bod yn broses hir a chymhleth. Yn cychwyn yn 2001, ac erbyn 2004 ‘roedd ddogfen drafft ar gael o’r CDU, dangoswyd hwn hyd a lled Gwynedd mewn arddangosfa am gyfnod o tua 6 wythnos yn yr Haf.
Canlyniad hwn oedd ddogfen arall swmpus gyda’r teitl – ‘CDU Gwynedd Newidiadau Arfaethedig Cyn Ymchwiliad’, a chyhoeddwyd yn Medi 2005.
Y cam nesaf oedd cyflwyno’r oll ddogfennau, gyda thua 2800 sylwadau a gwrthwynebiadau i’r Arolygwyr Llywodraeth y Cynulliad. Cychwynnodd yr Arolygwyr ar eu gwaith yng Nghaernarfon tua dechrau 2006 ac erbyn Awst 2006 ‘roedd bob polisi, sylw a gwrthwynebiad i’r CDU wedi cael sylw. Wedyn ‘roedd angen i’r Arolygwyr ysgrifennu adroddiad ac awgrymu argymhellion (sef newidiadau) i’r Cynllun. Derbyniwyd yr adroddiad yma ar ffurf CD mis Rhagfyr. Mae 1,307 o dudalennau yn yr Adroddiad yma.
Teitl swyddogol yr adroddiad yw ‘Cynllun Datblygu Unedol Gwynedd - Adroddiad yr Arolygwr’ - bydd gan y ddogfen yma dylanwad pellgyrhaeddol ar fywyd yng Ngwynedd. Ar ôl bras-ddarllen y 1,307 o dudalennau cefais flas o le ‘roedd Adroddiad yr Arolygwr yn mynd a beth ‘roedd yr argymhellion. Mae’r adroddiad mewn ffurf ‘Argymhellion’. Ond beth yw ystyr ‘Argymell’; cenadwri, cyngor neu awgrym? Mae gan Gyngor Gwynedd yr hawl i anwybyddu bob ‘Argymhelliad’ gan yr Arolygydd, ond gydag oll bwysa’r Cynulliad tu ôl i awdurdod yr Arolygwr, ‘rwyf yn tybio mai derbyn rhan helaeth o’i Argymhellion bydd Cyngor Gwynedd.
Felly, beth sydd ar gael yn y ddogfen? Ar y rhestr ‘Dim Diolch’ yw Polisi CH4 - ‘Tai Newydd mewn Pentrefi Gwledig’. Crëwyd y polisi yma gan Wynedd i geisio ymateb i’r galw gan bobl leol am dai mewn ardaloedd gwledig. Mae’r Adroddiad am fynnu diddymu’r polisi yma, y canlyniad yw fydd hi’n llawer anoddach adeiladu yn y wlad.
Ergyd arall i ddatblygiadau yn yr ardaloedd gwledig yw‘r argymhelliad i dynhau ar y Ffiniau Datblygu, eto llai o gyfle i adeiladu tu allan i’r prif ardaloedd datblygu.
Beth yw canlyniad yr uchod? Yn fy marn i, siom a dadrithiad i’r bobl leol sydd am ymgeisio ac yn methu adeiladu yn eu ardaloedd gwledig, a’r bys wedi ei bwyntio’n annheg tuag at Gyngor Gwynedd am y penderfyniad.
Polisi arall a ddaliodd fy sylw oedd D17 - ‘Safleoedd Carafannau Sefydlog a Siales Gwyliau - Ymestyn y Tymor’ Mae’r Cyngor yn awyddus i weld y ‘Tymor’ yn cael ei ddehongli fel deg mis a hanner. Y rheswm, i atal defnydd trwy’r flwyddyn i osgoi’r canlyniadau strategol a chymdeithasol fydd yn dilyn yn rhai rhannau o’r Cyngor. Argymhelliad yr Arolygydd - Agor trwy’r flwyddyn!
Ethos cyffredinol yr Adroddiad yw ei fod yn ‘ddinesig’ ei arddull, gyda’r mwyafrif helaeth o ddatblygiadau’n cael eu cyfeirio tuag at yr aneddleoedd trefol a datblygiadau cefn gwlad yn cael eu hanwybyddu.
Dim ond crafu’r wyneb mae’r blog yma o’r Adroddiad yr Arolygwr, ‘rwyf yn sicr o ail-edrych ar hwn yn y dyfodol.
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