Pembrokeshire County Council's decision to refuse planning permission to a Redberth resident, Terence Neale, to build a new house on the bottom half of his garden, has been overturned by an inspector appointed by the Welsh Assembly.
The county council had decided last November to refuse permission on the grounds that the access to the site was inadequate. Mr. Neale had proposed to use as the access a new road, Cromwell Drive, built just over two years ago to serve a small group of new houses and bungalows.
The appeal was lodged in May, and the inspector held a hearing at Cresselly Village Hall on July 10. He heard evidence from county council officers, from local residents and from Mike Thorne, Tenby-based planning consultant, who represented Mr. Neale.
In his decision letter of August 14, the inspector concluded: "The council has not demonstrated that additional demands placed on the highway by the occupiers of a single dwelling would materially endanger the safety and convenience of other road users."
The inspector also agreed with Mr. Thorne's claim that the county council had "acted unreasonably," causing the appellant to incur unnecessary expense. The inspector therefore ordered the council to pay Mr. Neale's costs in making the appeal.
Terence Neale told the Observer: "I am obviously very pleased with this result. It had seemed perfectly reasonable to me that I should be able to build another house fronting onto Cromwell Drive, and I was amazed when the county council refused it. The inspector's decision now puts that right, and his order for the council to pay my expenses on the grounds that they were unreasonable - well, that's the icing on the cake!"