A “HAZARDOUS” proposal to build a housing estate in Llanrhaeadr has been criticised by residents and community leaders who say it would cause car crashes and be so prone to flooding that it could become “another Glasdir Estate”.

The plan for the 33-house estate in Pentre Llanrhaeadr by Wrexham-based Dave Cottle Civil Engineering is due to go before the Denbighshire County Council planning committee on 13 February, but it has received objections from the Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch Community Council, a Welsh Government assembly member for North Wales and more than 10 residents in the village.

They say the block of homes, which would be built across the road from a new 15-house site, would be dangerous for residents and drivers but would also be detrimental to the Welsh language in the village and put further strain on its primary school.

Llyr Gruffydd, AM for North Wales, said he is “extremely concerned” about the number of cars that would be exiting the estate onto the blind bend of the busy A545 leading from Llanrhaeadr to Rhewl, where there have already been a number of recent accidents.

“I’m extremely concerned regarding the number of entrances onto this main arterial road through the Vale within a short distance of each other” he said. “Not only will there be possibly 40 or 50 cars wanting to leave this site at peak time but there will be possible be 20 to 30 cars from the new site directly opposite.

“Cars approaching from Denbigh to Ruthin will be coming round a blind crested bend with limited visibility of this site’s entrance but cars from the opposite direction will have to stop in the middle of the road when waiting to enter.

“Thankfully, there have been no recent fatalities on this stretch of road but there have been numerous accidents and near misses, which has required the presence of ambulances and the police.”

Denbighshire Free Press:

Elfed Williams (left), with Llyr Gruffydd outside the field in Llanrhaeadr.

Elfed Williams, chair of the community council, said the proposed site has been historically prone to surface water flooding following heavy rain which could cause a repeat of the Ruthin housing estate floods in 2013. He said: “This site would not only take away valuable productive agricultural land, make the village look more urbanised, block views of the countryside but potentially be a flood risk for future homeowners.

“In 2000, it was impossible to get to Rhuthun from Llanrhaeadr because the main road running alongside this site was closed. Water poured down the mountain road opposite this site, across the road and onto the field where these houses will be built.

“These types of flooding are only supposed to happen once in every 100 years but these rare happenings appear more frequently these days. The last thing we want is another Glasdir.”

During the consultation period, the community council said it would also oppose the housing estate because it would fail to “preserve the linguistic balance that exists” within Llanrhaeadr, which has above-average Welsh speakers for Wales but has seen a 9 per cent decline between 2001 and 2011.

One resident during the consultation said the proposed site would be “very hazardous” due to the entrance onto the A525, while another described it as “lethal”.

Another resident said the housing estate would lead to “unacceptable” class sizes and “exacerbate” the decline of Welsh language speakers in Llanrhaeadr “to the detriment of the linguistic balance of the village”.