New homes in Mid Glamorgan will harm wildlife, claim campaigners

Controversial plans to build 460 homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf are set to go ahead, with campaigners suggesting local biodiversity will be negatively impacted.

The development on Cefn yr Hendy fields in Miskin was given outline planning permission in 2018. A bid by Campaign group Friends of Cefn Yr Hendy to block the plans by getting the land designated as a village green was rejected in 2020.

The land earmarked for development contains areas of ancient woodland (Tim Salkeld).

Officers at Rhondda Rhondda Cynon Taf Council recommended to approve the plans at a meeting on 12 January. Residents are concerned at the loss of open space and are the potential impact of the development on local wildlife and biodiversity, given the land features ancient woodland and is home to mice, bats and birds of prey.

Campaigners have called for any decision to be delayed until the publication of ecology and bat surveys, due in the summer, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. However council planning officers said the application complies with the Local Development Plan for the area and claimed the developer has addressed the concerns from the public.