A letter from your local Councillors, Justine Evans and Keith Jones

 

Denbighshire County Council (DCC) intend to use 24 of the Maes Emlyn flats on a "temporary basis" as accommodation for “people who are looking for homes”. Because this would be a ‘Change of Use’, they have already submitted a Planning application, for which consultation closes on 29 December 2022 and a decision made by 22 January 2023.

You may have had a newsletter from DCC informing you of their plans for the Maes Emlyn site, with a link to make comments. The link on their newsletter is not for the above planning application.

We include a short-cut link that saves you having to search the DCC Planning Portal.

Just click on  bit.ly/MaesEmlynRhyl1 

Dear Resident, 

We are your Rhyl Town Council (RTC) Councillors.  You may or may not have received through the post a newsletter from Denbighshire County Council (DCC) informing you of their plans for the Maes Emlyn site, which was closed down for the existing residents at the end of 2020. They mention a planning application to redevelop the site being made "next Spring". They also publish a link to their County Conversation website "If you have any thoughts about our proposals we would like to hear about them".

However the newsletter confuses this plan, with a much different plan, which they mention only briefly. DCC intend to use 24 of the Maes Emlyn flats as "specialised temporary accommodation” for a period of up to 5 years.

It is very important to know that any comments you make on the County Conversation website (deadline 28 February 2023), would not, as it stands, count as a formal comment on this planning application. We both think this is not acceptable nor transparent and RTC have expressed their concerns to DCC and asked to extend the closing date for the planning application. We will keep you updated on this.

However, we also want to keep you informed on DCC's idea of re-purposing what was housing for the elderly of the area; an idea that we, and many residents we have spoken to, consider to be a badly thought-out plan. When the residents were given no choice but to leave (some likened it to an ‘eviction’), DCC gave many reasons.

The residents were told in a leaflet that their "home insulation does not meet the current standard" "kitchens and bathrooms .. need replacing" "communal areas do not offer the heat required to provide a warm environment" "the design of the housing blocks, including the long corridors, are not reflective of modern environments" "the flat roof is no longer fit for purpose and requires major works" "the ageing electric heating and hot water cylinders are no longer efficient". The leaflet concluded "Maes Emlyn regrettably falls short of the current standards expected from supported home living".

A pdf of the leaflet (DCC Tenants' Information Pack) that was issued at the time is available.

We are told by DCC that as of April 2022, there were 179 households in temporary emergency accommodation and the largest proportion of these were single households under the age of 35. So it will be 24 units to help up to 179 households. DCC claim this plan will “meet the requirements of the majority of the households in temporary accommodation”. Unless DCC are intending to apply for a change of use of the whole site, at some future point, the numbers just don't stack up.

Even with refurbishment, we believe the standard of this proposed accommodation would not match that found elsewhere. DCC have already admitted as much. We both object to the planning application.

DCC say "the change of use will improve community safety" and "the presence of on-site management 24 hours a day will ensure that anti-social behaviour is not permitted to escalate". Note that last word. There is no detail from DCC of the likely demographic make-up of the possible citizens who would be allocated places. North Wales Police have asked for clarification of this. There are also no details from DCC of the 24 hour support that will be in place.

We want to ensure in the longer term, that you, the local community, have a full say in how DCC develop the Maes Emlyn site. In the shorter term, we want to ensure as many of you as can, comment on the 'official' planning application. You can access this on the DCC planning portal. We include a short-cut link that saves you having to search for the application. (If you need help with making a comment, let us know)

Just click on  bit.ly/MaesEmlynRhyl1 

We have set up an online blogpage, which doesn't rely on you being on social media, nor us printing lots of letters each time. 

Click on www.maesemlynrhyl2022.blogspot.com

Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies and Vale of Clwyd MS Gareth Davies also share our concerns about the consultation process and the plans for Maes Emlyn, and both have made their views regarding this application known to DCC.

We want to assure you that we will be working together with them, and Rhyl East County Councillor Barry Mellor, in your best interests. Please keep an eye on our blog for all updates and if you have any questions, or wish to speak to us regarding the plans, our contact details are below.

 

Best Regards

 

 

RTC and DCC Cllr Justine Evans and RTC Cllr Keith Jones

 

Contact Details
Cllr Justine Evans Phone: 07795 649557 Email: justinemarie.evans@denbighshire.gov.uk	Cllr Keith Jones Phone/WhatsApp: 07901 821351 Email: keithrjones01@gmail.com
Cllr Barry Mellor Phone: 01745 350067 Email: barry.mellor@denbighshire.gov.uk
Dr James Davies MP 198 High Street, Prestatyn, Denbighshire, LL19 9BP Phone: 01745 888920 Email: james.davies.mp@parliament.uk	Gareth Davies MS Phone: 0300 200 7173 Email: GarethLDavies@senedd.wales