Go-ahead for 39-home 'eco-village' for Lawrenny, Pembrokeshire
- Published
Plans for an eco-village in Pembrokeshire have been given green light
Plans for a so-called "eco-village" have been given the go ahead despite concerns over extra traffic and the impact it would have on the area.
Work on the plans - for 39 homes, seven workplaces and a village green - in Lawrenny, Pembrokeshire, will now start in May.
Lawrenny sits on the Cleddau estuary and has a church, pub and shop.
Landowners the Lort-Phillips family said the development was about "rural regeneration".
Adrian Lort-Phillips said: "The houses will have so many sustainable elements - like a district heating system derived from biomass from the trees grown on the farm and will use various technologies to create a zero-carbon existence.
"Yes, it's a big development, but why shouldn't small villages grow in the same way that larger towns do?"
Tom and Birte Bromby moved to the village from England
Tom and Birte Bromby moved to Lawrenny after living on England's south coast.
The couple, who are restaurateurs, live in a converted pumphouse on the Lawrenny estate and the new development will be on their doorstep.
Ms Bromby said: "I hope the new development will attract families, people who want to live here, rather than just holiday here."
Stephen Oats is worried about traffic
However, resident Stephen Oats worried the development would change Lawrenny's character.
"It's the scale of it that's worrying - it'll double the size of the village," he said.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority told BBC Wales the proposals would provide "new residential properties whilst sustaining the local character and not adversely affecting the special qualities of the National Park".
Farm buildings where the new homes will be built