Anwyl to appeal Rhyl refusal
Denbighshire County Council can expect to be called on to defend its rejection of plans for 59 affordable homes at Maes Farrelly, a decision that went in the face of officer advice.
The application was heard at Denbighshire’s planning committee at the start of this month, with officers recommending approval and statutory consultees largely supportive. The plans would see Anwyl expand its 500-home Parc Aberkinsey estate to the south-east.
Rhyl Town Council raised no objection, and although the council’s highways officer raised issues in several areas, none was sufficient enough to be objection-worthy.
Objections did come in from around 30 neighbouring addresses, touching on such matters as impact on visual amenity, traffic impact, and overlooking.
Two reasons were given in the decision notice. The first stated that development is unacceptable as the site lies wholly outside Rhyl’s defined development boundary on greenfield land, with the applicants not doing enough to convince members of reasons for approval – furthermore, it was “not considered that the proposal would create a sustainable mixed community”.
The second was that adding 59 homes to the area would “unacceptably exacerbate existing highway problems in the locality by way of increased vehicular movements at the Trellewelyn Road/Bro Deg/Colin Drive junction and B5119 Dyserth Road/Pen-Y-Maes Avenue junction.”
The proposal is for 54 houses and five bungalows, made up of:
- Six one-bed flats
- Two one-bed bungalows
- Two two-bed bungalows
- One three-bed fully adapted bungalow
- 26 two-bed houses
- 18 three-bed houses
- Four four-bed houses
The application site is 4.62 acres and is billed as land at Rhyl South East (phase six), south of Fford Elsie, the wider development being billed by Anwyl as Parc Aberkinsey – the northern and western boundaries of this site are made up of previous phases of Parc Aberkinsey.
This is a 100% affordable homes project, with Anwyl Partner Projects intending to deliver homes in partnership with Wales & West Housing Association. Astle Planning & Design is advising.
Anwyl said that the proposed development was designed to address the well-documented local housing need, quoting a report available to the planning committee indicating that 916 people on the social housing waiting list have specified Rhyl as their first choice.
Mark Calvert, managing director of Anwyl Cheshire and North Wales, said: “We’re disappointed by the committee’s decision, particularly as the application was recommended for approval by the council’s planning officers and would have delivered 59 much-needed affordable homes for local people.
“This was a carefully considered proposal, developed in partnership with a registered social landlord, specifically to help address the significant shortage of affordable housing across Denbighshire.
“We hope the appeal process will allow the merits of the scheme to be fully considered. We remain confident that the proposal represents a sustainable and responsible development, which would provide high-quality homes for people who are currently struggling to access suitable housing in the area.”
Although now an operator working way beyond North Wales, Anwyl is a local business at heart – it was founded in Rhyl in 1930, and over the last 15 years has delivered around 500 homes at Parc Aberkinsey, expanding the south-eastern edge of Rhyl by around 50 acres.
The firm said community investments linked to this development would include £70,000 for ecological mitigation land management, more than £13,000 for public open space, plus a highways contribution for a flagpost bus stop.
Documents relating to the initial application can be seen on DCC’s planning portal, using the reference 45/2025/0577/MD.
