Controversial bid to demolish Gwynedd social club goes before planners today

A bid to demolish a former social club and erect a three storey building with shop, cafe and one bedroomed flats in its place has met with opposition from local residents.

The Maesgeirchen Social and Community Club, on the housing estate on the outskirts of Bangor, closed several years ago and is boarded up.

Developers have submitted their plans to Gwynedd Council.

Recommending approval and planning officers concluded the scheme acceptable “based on its use, location, setting, design, materials, scale and any potential effect on the general amenities of the area and on individuals”.

The development would include a shop on the ground floor allocated for convenience goods, a cafe counter and seating area and a storage and canteen area for staff. It is proposed to open the shop for 24 hours a day, seven days a week and facilities on offer would include a cash machine.

Ten single bedroom flats would be created on the floors above the shop in the building which would be some 35-feet high.

The report notes the new building would have the same footprint as the existing building although officials concede it would be significantly taller than surrounding homes.

But it adds: “Nevertheless, there are many three-storey buildings in other parts of Maesgeirchen, including blocks of flats of similar size, and it is not considered a building such as this would be different in nature to other buildings in on the estate.

“In addition, as the building is at the bottom of a slope, it can be seen from several directions in the context of buildings that are behind it, on top of the slope, and

these would continue to have roofs on a higher level than the new building which would mean the building would not dominate the local townscape.”

Bangor City Council were among bodies to lodge objections to the scheme. In a letter to the county council clerk Ian Jones said the building is too big and likely to dominate the surrounding houses.

“The positioning of a supermarket opposite older persons bungalows would cause noise nuisance and attract youths and potentially anti-social behaviour.

“A recent survey showed no desire for a supermarket in the vicinity,” he said.

Objections from residents noted concern regarding road safety considering the proximity to the children’s play areas and its effect on the amenities of the nearby houses.

One resident claimed the scheme would be tantamount to an over-development of the site while another claimed there was no need for a cash machine on the estate.

Others noted there were plenty of other shops in Maesgeirchen and were concerned about competition with these businesses.

The council report notes the existing shops include a post office, small convenience goods store, a launderette and two takeaway food shops,

“The estate currently has small shops and there is no mini supermarket facility which is similar to the one in question. In terms of population size and the fact that it is physically separate from the rest of the city, Maesgeirchen is more or less a separate town and considering the information submitted with the application, there is no reason to doubt the logic of the Retail Report which states that there is currently an under-provision of shopping facilities within the estate.

The application will be considered at a Planning Committee meeting in Pwllheli on Monday.