GLASFRYN ROAD PLANNING APPLICATION To all CLT Members.

No doubt you have seen and heard much discussion in recent weeks about the proposed Glasfryn Road Planning Application.

The NOPI Group (No Premier Inn in St Davids) have requested that the Board of the St Davids Peninsula Community Land Trust (CLT) hold a Special Meeting to decide to withdraw from the Joint Planning Application with Pembrokeshire Housing Association and Swangate Ltd (the developers of the Hotel).

The CLT membership has now increased to nearly 300, and the majority of new members are NOPI sympathisers, consequently the CLT Directors have to accept that, in the event of the SGM being held, the motions put forward would be carried.

In response, we put forward an alternative proposition that the CLT would have " no formal role in the Joint Application and that all reference to the CLT would be removed from the Planning Application". As a result, the NOPI group have withdrawn their SGM Request.

This means that the future of the Planning Application is now a matter for Swangate and Pembrokeshire Housing Association. The CLT will have no influence on the number of houses built, or whether any of them will be available for purchase by local people. It also means that it is unlikely that there will be any opportunity to generate funding for the Swimming Pool.

The ultimate outcome will also depend on the wishes of the Landowners and as the potential option to purchase the land has been stopped, following NOPI’s intervention, we will have no influence on the Landowners decision.

The Board of the CLT are deeply saddened by this situation, however in the face of the overwhelming pressure by NOPI there was little alternative.

The NOPI group have also indicated that they would like to see NOPI subsumed into the CLT.

We believe that this is wholly inappropriate as the CLT was set up with only 2 objectives: - to deliver Affordable Housing and to raise money for the Swimming Pool. The CLT is not a campaigning group and has always remained neutral regarding the hotel. As such it is inappropriate and unrealistic for NOPI to believe that it can or should take over the CLT, in order to stop the Hotel proposal. This position is also confirmed by the National Organisation of Community Land Trusts.

We will arrange an AGM in September. By then the situation regarding any Planning Applications should be known and we will be able to decide on what future policy and action is appropriate. Calling Notices and Agendas will be circulated in due course.

We are aware and appreciate that many of the new members have joined specifically to show solidarity with the CLT Board and our aims to generate affordable housing in St Davids. We are extremely sad that even with such support we could not have carried the day, but we wish to acknowledge the efforts of those who worked hard to support the CLT.

Finally, we are very sad to report that following pressure from NOPI, Councillor David Lloyd has resigned from the Board of the CLT after more than seven years continuous involvement with this project, but we hope that he will attend future meetings as the Pembrokeshire County Council representative. The Directors would like to thank David for his unstinting efforts over the years.

Anne Dixon

Secretary to the CLT