Reservoir Action Group

Newsletter No. 4
(16/10/2002)


Despite rumours that Western Power Distribution was due to submit a planning application in mid-August, nothing materialised. However, there is no doubt that they are continuing to develop plans for housing on the site of Llanishen reservoir. RAG will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed.


Access to the Reservoirs

The current permits, which enable members of the public to walk around Llanishen & Lisvane reservoirs, expire on October 17th. For some time it looked as though Dwr Cymru / Welsh Water were not going to renew the permits and were going to lock up the site. However, we contacted them and have just been told that new permits will be issued for the next six months. These will cost £4 and, as before, will be available from the Rangers at the site. We understand, however, that Welsh Water will decide whether to issue any further permits next April depending on the ‘status’ of the reservoirs at that time.

 

Planning Law – some fact and fiction

Since the scheme to build on the reservoirs was first mooted we have heard several suggestions that imply that development of the site for housing is inevitable. This is certainly not the case despite some widespread misconceptions:

  1. If planning permission for development is refused, then the Council will be liable to pay heavy compensation for the loss of development rights. Fact: no such compensation is payable under UK Planning law.
  2. If permission for WPD’s development is refused, the reservoir may be drained and the land sold to a major UK house builder. Fact: the planning permission runs with the land, so if WPD’s application to build houses is rejected, similar schemes will almost certainly be rejected.
  3. The Council may as well grant permission because the applicants would win an appeal anyway. Fact: there are a number of key Council and Assembly policies that have abundant authority to refuse any planning application. Indeed, two appeals against the Council’s refusal to allow housing on land near Llanishen Reservoir have already been rejected.

Although we are expecting Western Power Distribution to submit the planning application they do not currently own the reservoirs. The reservoirs are owned by Glas Cymru, a "not-for-profit" company which owns Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water. Glas Cymru was formed in April 2000 with the express purpose of acquiring Welsh Water from Western Power Distribution, who themselves had bought out the troubled Welsh utility company Hyder. As part of the deal whereby Glas Cymru acquired Welsh Water from WPD, we understand that WPD reserved the right to apply for planning permission to build on Llanishen & Lisvane reservoirs, which they had identified as having good development potential i.e. it would make them a lot of money. If their planning application is successful, ownership of the reservoirs will revert to them, but if they are unsuccessful it is likely to remain with Glas Cymru. A win / win situation for WPD!

 

Summer Success for Llanishen Sailing Centre

It has been a very successful summer for Llanishen Sailing Centre. The Llanishen reservoir based facility was the first in Wales to achieve "Dragon Sail" status and this was followed immediately by the prestigious award of "Royal Yachting Association Champion Club". The Sailing Centre further reported that eight members qualified as RYA Instructors and a further four as RYA Senior Instructors. These qualifications are regarded as the "gold standard" for sailing instruction. Llanishen Sailing Centre’s record is unequalled in Wales and it is one of the most successful sailing centres in the UK.
If Western Power’s plans to reduce the area of water available for sailing to about a third of the current area go ahead, then only the most basic of sailing training for young children will be possible. Other local sites such as Cardiff Bay do not enjoy the high water quality that makes Llanishen reservoir particularly suitable for teaching young people to sail. Wales will effectively lose its foremost sail-training centre. This cannot be allowed to happen.