The county council is again consulting on its replacement local development plan (LDP). This time, landowners have put forward additional candidate sites for development mostly as housing. The latest are south of Bro Deg and within the triangle Borthyn/Mwrog Street/flood relief scheme.
In September, the Ruthin & District Civic Association claimed that the initial raft of candidate sites could result in 55 acres of housing development with between 650 and 880 additional units. This they reasonably say could result in an extra 2,000 people.
In January, the new candidate sites bring with them the possibility of a further 270 to 365 housing units. In total, then, this equates to a potential for 1,245 additional housing units or 2,800 additional people in town. And that’s without mentioning what could happen in local villages.
Not all these units will be built all at once (if at all) but it’s worth pondering what might happen if they were. Rhuthun’s population is currently 5,666. An expansion to some 8,500 puts Rhuthun within reach of Dinbych and Yr Wyddgrug/Mold. Both are towns of a completely different scale. Would Rhuthun/Ruthin therefore lose the very things that make it special? Its uniqueness and its charm lie in its compactness. A massive expansion means that we lose the human scale.
Expansion of this nature would lead to Rhuthun becoming nothing other than an overspill town. It would reinforce the dormitory nature of the area. This at a time when more than ever we are staring down the barrel of a climate emergency. But it’s not just about commuting to jobs and to services some distance away. It’s also about no longer being able to walk the distance from housing estates into the town centre, something which for those able to do so is more than possible at the moment.
The most controversial candidate site remains between Corwen and Ruthin Roads
In September, the Ruthin & District Civic Association claimed that the initial raft of candidate sites could result in 55 acres of housing development with between 650 and 880 additional units. This they reasonably say could result in an extra 2,000 people.
In January, the new candidate sites bring with them the possibility of a further 270 to 365 housing units. In total, then, this equates to a potential for 1,245 additional housing units or 2,800 additional people in town. And that’s without mentioning what could happen in local villages.
Not all these units will be built all at once (if at all) but it’s worth pondering what might happen if they were. Rhuthun’s population is currently 5,666. An expansion to some 8,500 puts Rhuthun within reach of Dinbych and Yr Wyddgrug/Mold. Both are towns of a completely different scale. Would Rhuthun/Ruthin therefore lose the very things that make it special? Its uniqueness and its charm lie in its compactness. A massive expansion means that we lose the human scale.
Expansion of this nature would lead to Rhuthun becoming nothing other than an overspill town. It would reinforce the dormitory nature of the area. This at a time when more than ever we are staring down the barrel of a climate emergency. But it’s not just about commuting to jobs and to services some distance away. It’s also about no longer being able to walk the distance from housing estates into the town centre, something which for those able to do so is more than possible at the moment.