Torfaen Council has recently refused a planning application for a car hardstanding which was planned to be located within a disused canal lock chamber adjacent to Greenhill Road in Cwmbran. The canal here was culverted many years ago, with the lock chamber itself partially filled with earth.
MBACT had submitted a detailed policy objection to the granting of the application. We argued that the proposal, if allowed, would prejudice the planned restoration of the canal. If the Council were not minded to refuse the application, our Trust also suggested an alternative temporary consent, coupled with detailed conditions, which would allowed the applicant to retain the hardstanding until restoration was undertaken. In the event, the Council took the decision to refuse consent.
Our Trust was supported in our objection by the Bridge 46 to Five Locks Canal Group who share our vision of a fully restored canal and the benefits that it will bring to our local community.
Featured image at the top of this page – The Monmouthshire Canal as it used to be at Greenhill Road, Cwmbran. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence.