Welsh Government as Cosmeston developer must comply with FG Act

Cosmeston coastal development  on public land: 

FoE call on Jane Hutt to ensure her government's Estates Dept. complies with the Future Generations Act.

Though the Welsh Government owns the land, it is behaving as a developer maximising its "assets", so Barry & Vale FoE are pressing Jane Hutt to intervene.   The Future Generations Act is toothless if Mark Drakeford's Cabinet allows their Estates department to ignore both the spirit and the letter of the Act.

Max Wallis points out

"The Welsh Government have hired Asbri Planning who aim to build a housing estate with apartments up to 9 storeys. not even a shop and no remedy for the lack of health and public transport facilities in lower Penarth. They would build right up to the coast, leaving space only for the Wales Coastal Path which could erode away in a generation or two."

Keith Stockdale says

"I can hardly believe the Welsh Government want to build here, in green fields used by migrating birds, next to the Severn Special Area of Conservation and threatening the Wales Coastal Path. 

When the sea erodes this and the next open section, the Coastal Path
would have to be diverted through the new housing estate

We are asking Jane Hutt AM whose constituency covers this area and Vaughan Gething who covers Penarth, to meet local objectors at Cosmeston to see for themselves the threat of the Welsh Government as developers to our precious environment and discuss sustainability principles for the use of this public land.

FoE's letter of 28 October says:

to Jane Hutt AM for Vale of Glamorgan

Cosmeston development: ensure the WG section complies with the Future Generations Act and uses its land here for sustainable development

You will be aware the Cosmeston (Upper Farm) development is by the Welsh Government, who have hired Asbri Planning** to manage the scheme. The WG could be using their land positively; however, officials at the public session told people their aim was to “realise their assets by building on the land”.

They have no intention of remedying the lack of local shops, health and community services in the adjacent housing estates, resulting from the non-sustainable expansion of housing sprawl over the last decades.  Your Cabinet colleague Julie James* told housing developers to build communities, not estates, and promised “government leverage to stop that happening, not to help it to happen."

Asbri have no intention of reserving a strip along the coast for public recreation and/or for safeguarding the Wales Coastal Path for future generations against coastal erosion.

They do not aim to protect the Severn Estuary ‘Special Area of Conservation’ or to respect the RAMSAR status of the coastal strip in providing for migrating birds.

They have no intention of planning for the Metro to be extended to this estate and a Cosmeston terminal, omitting to mention or even consult Transport-for-Wales over possible re-opening the rail-line for future metro-trans

Despite the site being remote from Penarth (the ‘service centre’), they haven’t assessed how far facilities could be comfortably reached by walking or cycling and what new provisions should be provided locally to make this development together with the neighbouring housing area (Lavernock Park estate etc.) “sustainable”.  The dearth of shops and complete absence of GP services in lower Penarth are obvious issues.

Asbri Planning say on community facilities that their team discussed “options for community facilities in the area” with C&V University Health Board, not the appropriate VoG Public Services Board. 

Asbri’s pre-planning consultation just asked people to say if they are in favour or against the development and give reasons.  That shows no openness to ideas on designing for all the sustainability issues.

EIA “scoping” is supposed to address such issues, but failed because your Welsh Government planners failed to act independently in their scoping role.  The Vale of Glamorgan asked only for a school, their direct responsibility.  The Welsh Government did not reply from their responsibility for Transport for Wales, CO2 emissions, future generations etc.

Would you therefore intervene and inform the estates section of the Welsh Government that they are bound by the Future Generations Act.  They should issue new instructions to their consultants Asbri – the ANNEX below contains our specific proposals.

You will be well aware that there are poor developers who aim for minimum standards, and good developers who put high weight on sustainability.  Now the Government have declared a climate emergency, you have surely to instruct your estates department to join the latter category.

We’d invite you to meet representatives of local critics on-site and at the Cosmeston Park café at a convenient time, and look forward to hearing from you.   

   Friends of the Earth Barry&Vale

   -----------------------------------

* Ministerial address to the Tai 2019 Conference:  bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-49016996

** Asbri Planning documents on  their website, before they blocked it:   https://www.asbriplanning.co.uk/statutory-pre-application-consultation/cosmeston.  

ANNEX: Need for WG to issue new instructions to their consultants (FoE propose)

            WG Estates are presumably in the portfolio of the Minister for Finance, Rebecca Evans AM

1. assessing the dearth of health and community facilities in lower Penarth and giving priority to mitigating them
2. public transport into Penarth by-passing traffic congestion - metro-trams and buses through the adjacent housing area (via bus-only gates)
3. planning for a metro-tram Cosmeston station, serving the Cosmeston Lakes Park as well as the local housing
4. leaving a wide coastal strip, safeguarding the Wales Coastal Path from erosion for at least five future generations, to keep it as a rural wildlife-rich path buffered from any urban development.
5. meeting WG obligations under RAMSAR, to keep urban development off the coastal area used by migrating birds
6. sponsor a trial archaeological dig to assess what areas need safeguarding from development (thought to be part of the Cosmeston medieval settlement).
7. carry out an Equality and Health Impact Assessment, which would bring out need for design of bus-access safe for schoolkids, safe-routes to the school, and for a 20mph speed limit (not the 30mph they propose)  
8. providing renewable energy generation and zero-CO2 homes (stronger eco-insulation standards)
9. guarantees to fund car-charging points and social (uneconomic) public transport on Sundays and evenings. 

Saving Dinas Powys woods and meadowland on the Cadoxton Brook

NRW’s flood-protection engineers propose to save about 200 homes in Dinas Powys from flooding by erecting a massive dam, 3.5metres high across the 100metre wide valley.  

On the few occasions of  1 in 100 year floods, the water would back up as far as Michaelston-le-Pit.  More frequently it would flood the meadows and the ancient woodland bordering it, killing some through the repeated waterlogging.

Some 350 people turned out on Sunday 14^th Sept. to walk the area and hear the case against by the Save Dinas Woods group.

Under a magnificent oak tree, Cathy speaking to the crowds.

The Woodland Trust who own the meadows and woodland supplied information and support.   As for last year’s  Roath Brook scheme, the NRW are over-riding objections on sensitive landscape and ecology; it seems they can sequester land deemed necessary for flood protection, agreeing compensation afterwards.  Just guess what value the compensation system will place on irreplaceable woodland.

Fortunately, the dormouse has been found to inhabit the woodland margins.  The Habitats legislation covering European Protected Species, requires NRW to look at alternatives that do not damage the dormouse habitat.  They cannot promote their favourite, but must seriously consider alternative measures, which include tree planting upstream to hold back heavy rainfall, diverting steams onto fields to delay peak flows, excavating the brook to increase the flow downstream (and flood the Biglis and Sully Moors fields).

The Roath Brook scheme was on the verge of being stopped by the water vole – unfortunately the kingfisher did not count, as not a protected animal.  However, the presence of the voles was uncertain at the time the  scheme was underway.  Finding the dormouse in the Dinas woodland at this early stage should stop NRW’s huge and hugely damaging £5-7million dam.

The Dinas Powys group provides much information and document links here; they also have  Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Excessive Fish-kill by Hinkley's new nuclear plant

EdF proposes to maintain and increase massive fish-kill at nuclear cooling water intake
                                      FOR our Formal Response, click on the Button above

Protected species of Twaite shad, lamprey and eels are threatened by Hinkley Point’s nuclear cooling water intake, among the 500 000 shrimps and sprats sucked in daily, with half killed off.

This issue features in the Sunday Times of 21 July.   https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nuclear-power-plant-will-suck-fish-to-their-deaths-zm6cmj0ft

Friends of the Earth, Barry&Vale group support the objections of marine conservation and fishing interests to the company’s application. The law requires best endeavours to avoid killing any of the protected species.

NNB Genco propose not to use an acoustic deterrent system, saying it’s inefficient for eels and lampreys.  We argue (as does an ex-EA staff member who worked on HP regulation) this means NNB Genco have to develop enhanced acoustic systems or some other method for avoiding fish-kill.

We emphasise species that have protected status under the Habitats and Species regulations – eels, lampreys and Twaite shad.  These are also designated species for the Severn estuary ‘Special Area of Conservation’.   

NNB Genco’s case is unacceptable.  They use 10-year old sampling in which eels and lampreys were crushed within around a million sprats and shrimps, giving quite unreliable estimates.  Second, the design speed of the flow (0.3metres/sec) is several times higher than low-speed intake as might enable swimming away.  Third they propose to use a larger than optimum 5-mm mesh, which would stop Twait shad but damage juvenile lampreys and elvers.

The protected status requires that intake systems are designed to avoid harming lampreys and eels/elvers to the maximum possible.  Far from trying to meet this requirement, the company and Env Agency are even accepting a large mesh size (5mm) that is contrary to the Eels Regulations.

We are concerned that the Welsh government have not responded to the consultation, though they are directly responsible to the Welsh side of the Severn Estuary SAC and Welsh fish stocks and protected species are under threat.

Background NNBGenco has applied to omit an acoustic fish deterrent system from the intake, so the English Environment Agency are 'consulting' over allowing this, rather than forcing them to develop a suitable deterrent and exclusion system.  

Friends of the Earth, Barry&Vale group are the nearest Welsh FOE group to Hinkley Point.  We campaigned against the dumping of nuclear mud in the Severn Estuary SAC, near Penarth last year. The 200 000tonnes of mud was excavated in order to build the huge cooling water intakes – which will suck up to 250 000 fish to their deaths each day (Sunday Times article).

How to object:  documents and objection letters can be viewed at   http://ow.ly/TWYh30nVm6q.  It's open for objections till 26thJuly; the 'deadline' has twice been extended by one month.

FOE Campaigning to cut Plastic Pollution

Friends of the Earth Barry&Vale see the declaration of plastic-free towns, as Penarth, to have little bite.  Replacing plastic covering on a few items by a small fraction of traders does not merit a 'plastic-free' title.

The Surfers-against-Sewage campaign was out-distanced by the new single-use plastics directive agreed by the EU last December, which will enter into force by mid-2021 [1].  FoE wants Britain to sign up to this, come Brexit or not.

The directive targets the top 13 products most commonly found on beaches – plastic plates, cutlery, expanded polystyrene food containers, cups, straws and cotton buds are all banned.

In Britain, the Phase-out of Plastic Pollution Bill, which has been drawn up by Friends of the Earth and the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI), was presented to Parliament by Alistair Carmichael MP in January, with support from a cross party group of MPs.

Max Wallis FOE member in Penarth says pressure is needed to pass this new law, tightened up by the parliamentary process, to ensure tough and timetabled action to tackle the crisis in plastic pollution.

The Phase-out of Plastic Pollution Bill, includes:

• A statutory long-term target to phase out all but the most essential uses of plastic by 2025.
• Add further categories to the European list of products (plastic sachets, disposable coffee cup lids etc.)
• Establish an independent advisory Committee on Plastics Pollution to advise on policy measures to achieve the targets and develop a list of essential plastic uses.

                                                Friends of the Earth Barry&Vale  14 May 2019

[1] https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/how-we-fought-new-eu-rules-stop-plastic-pollution

[2] https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/new-bill-cut-plastic-pollution-presented-parliament