PLANS for a major housing development and farm relocation in the small village of Lawrenny are being put out for a pre-planning public consultation this week.

Lawrenny Home Farm development, a circa £7m project, will see around 33 new homes and up to 7 live-work offices built in the National Park village. The mixed-use residential development was part of a Europe-wide Royal Institute of British Architects competition to find a perfect design, in keeping with the village.

The plan to modernise and expand Lawrenny was originally conceived by farmer David Lort-Phillips and presented to the Local authority in 1970. Over 40 years he rebuilt and modernised the mostly 18th Century cottages.

When he began there were around a dozen habitable cottages, few with running water. Now there are 35 homes and more than twenty businesses based in the community. First phase restoration work was recognised in the Prince of Wales Award scheme in 1975. In 2007 the village won the Calor Best Village in Wales award.

“Pembrokeshire is already one of the most wonderful places to live in the UK,” said David.

“Small villages like Lawrenny have the potential to provide an almost unparalleled work-life balance. Lawrenny is a peaceful and beautiful location yet one which will have some of the best internet speeds in Wales, serving modern, beautifully designed and well-built homes and offices. This village is right in the middle of the National Park, on the shores of the Haven, a short distance from the coast: it provides a natural playground for young and old.

“Building homes in our communities that serve the needs of 21st Century families brings huge value into the local area and to Pembrokeshire as a whole. Not only do local trades and services benefit from the investment, but the local community can also draw back its own sons and daughters to raise their families here. What’s more it attracts talented and ambitious newcomers who choose Pembrokeshire as the place to get that work-life balance just right.”

The proposed homes and offices, to be heated by woodchip from local woodlands, will almost double the size of the existing village. They will also have some of the best internet connectivity in the UK with so called Fibre to the Home (FTTH) bringing speeds of up to 300mbps.

The development will also see the old Home Farm, an organic dairy business that has been based in the middle of the village for 60 years, moved to a new purpose built site outside the village adjacent to Broad Lane. The farm relocation will see the existing organic dairy fully upgraded comprising of a new dairy unit, slurry store, calf shed and underpass.

The consultation exercise, which will commence today (Mar 16), will give locals an opportunity to review the latest designs following an earlier public consultation undertaken in July / August 2016. Following the initial consultation feedback, a new road access leading to the residential site along an existing farm track has been proposed, to reduce any traffic impact on the local community.

Farm plans and additional technical reports have also been completed, for example, reviewing Transport, local Archaeology, Visual Impact and Ecology matters.

During a recent consultation, the proposed plans have already been highly commended by the Design Commission for Wales.

In the recent DCfW review, DCfW noted: “The client/landowner is to be credited for the strong, positive vision and strategy for the long term development of the village and an attitude of stewardship. The architects similarly show a clarity of narrative and philosophy of design. The scheme presented at the review has the potential to be an exemplar of rural development in Wales”

Plans for the proposed mixed-use residential scheme and organic dairy can be viewed via www.atriarcgroup.com/clients/Lawrenny.

Copies of the plans are also available to view in Lawrenny Village shop (Lawrenny), Tenby Library (Greenhil Avenue, Tenby) and at the Planning Offices of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (Llanion Park, Pembroke Dock).

Wayne Reynolds from Atriarc Planning will be in attendance next Friday (Mar 24) from 3pm to 6pm at Lawrenny Village shop to go through the proposals and answer any queries local residents (or interested people) may have.

The formal planning application(s) are expected to be submitted to the National Park in the late spring.