Sarnau Mansion access road approved despite heritage concerns

A new access road leading to a Georgian country house has been approved by councillors in Carmarthenshire against the advice of planning officers.

It will follow a different route and be shorter than the current access to Sarnau Mansion, between Carmarthen and Bancyfelin, which is to be closed as part of the plans.

A majority of Carmarthenshire council’s planning committee felt the improved safety aspect of the new road outweighed heritage concerns about the loss of a historic component of the grade two-listed property’s setting.

“We have to look to the future, not the past,” said Cllr Gareth Thomas.

The mansion is set back from Llysonnen Road and part of a smallholding used for equestrian purposes. It was built in 1820 for a banker called John Waters and listed in 2002 for its special architectural interest as a compact late Georgian country house, according to heritage body Cadw.

The width of the planned new access off Llysonnen Road has been scaled down from 6m to 4m – except at the entrance itself – by the applicant, Aled Evans, with more greenery to lessen its impact is proposed than previously.

The existing access was considered unsuitable for modern use and could not be improved, according to the applicant, due to land ownership constraints. The current access will be closed to Sarnau Mansion but not to the lodge near its junction with Llysonnen Road.

A planning report said the application was recommended for refusal because the loss of the current access “would fundamentally alter the manner in which the heritage asset is experienced and appreciated”.

The council’s built heritage officer said the access had stone pillars and provided a view of the front of the mansion while the proposed one led towards stables rather than the house itself.

Cllr Jean Lewis, a committee member who also represents the area in which Sarnau Mansion is located, said highways officers hadn’t objected and that she didn’t think the planning department’s refusal recommendation was a reasonable one. She proposed the committee went against the recommendation.

Cllr Thomas said “we have to remember we have a living society” and there was a danger of losing buildings that should be kept.

Some councillors wondered if the existing access could remain open on top of the new one being built with Cllr Terry Davies suggesting a one-way arrangement using both.

Planning officer Helen Rice, who said she understood some horse-race training took place at the smallholding, advised the committee it could only make a decision on the application before it.

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Ms Rice also said some tracks have been created at the land which were the subject of enforcement by the council.