Ceredigion Planners Set to Approve Demolition and Rebuild of Aberporth Bungalow

Ceredigion planners are expected to approve a long-running scheme to demolish a seaside village bungalow, replacing it with a two-storey house, despite a long list of objectors, including the local community council.
Applicant Paul Hodgson seeks to demolish the bungalow, known as ‘The Beach House’ at Cae Dolwen, Aberporth, replacing it with a new build, despite objections by local community council Aberporth and 14 letters against the scheme.
The site had a long planning history, with a previous scheme refused, followed by lengthy discussions between the architect and planning officers before the latest scheme ws submitted.
The application itself has been before the last two Ceredigion County Council development management committees, both recommended for approval, and is again recommended for approval at the February 14 meeting.
It was deferred at the December meeting due to further details connected with the scheme being submitted shortly before the committee date, the January meeting agreeing to a site visit before any decision was made.
The application has been brought before the committee following a request by Aberporth and Y Ferwig councillor Gethin Davies, who has raised issues of a claimed overdevelopment of the site, impact on the landscape, and materials used.
A report for planners has said that, while the new modern building’s height would increase by 1.87 metres, “it is considered to do this sympathetically to allow for a second storey by incorporating two gable end and a flat roof to ensure the pitched roof on the front elevation is not excessively high compared to that of the estate”.
At last month’s meeting, concerned neighbours said there were no objections to the redevelopment but to the “inappropriate nature and bulk” of the scheme, some “35 per cent taller” than the present bungalow.
The glass-fronted proposed replacement was described as “visually intrusive” and overbearing, with fears it would leave neighbouring gardens in shadow.
In a letter submitted to planners, applicant Paul Hodgson said: “The current property is of 1960s construction and was purchased in 2018 by my wife and I to enable us to relocate to Aberporth. I have family in the village, and have spent the last 30-plus summers in the area as our choice of holiday destination.
“The original house purchase survey highlighted several significant fundamental issues with the building that has subsequently resulted in cold, damp and mouldy living conditions for myself and family. The advice at that time was that renovation would be very difficult, expensive, and probably inadequate, and a rebuild would be the best solution to resolve all of the issues.
“I have now moved and settled in to Aberporth, am working in the area, running two businesses, and have started to integrate into the local community e.g. by helping to run and acting as musical director for the newly formed Aberporth Shanty singing group.
“However, the lengthy delays in the planning processes to date now mean that continuing to live in the existing declining property, particularly during the wintertime, is having significant and detrimental effects on both the physical and mental health of myself and my family. We are therefore very much hoping that this can now be settled as quickly as possible.”
His letter concludes by saying the plans will “result in an efficient modern building that upgrades the current property in line with modern standards and other contemporary examples already built in the village, as recently given approval in Aberporth, and the surrounding area”.
The application is recommended for conditional approval. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​