RESIDENTS in Mardy who are opposed to the inclusion of a site for 300 houses in the new Local Development Plan have adopted a new name.

They are now called MADD (Mardy Against Deri Development) after Llantilio Pertholey Community Council asked for a change of name as some residents of the village are not opposed to the scheme for a field at Deri Farm.

At their meeting last week the action group decided to invite a member of the local community council to attend their monthly meetings so the member can report back to fellow councillors.

Community councillor John Fitzgerald, who attended the meeting as a resident, has asked the council to call a public meeting over the issue and this was due to be discussed last night (Wednesday).

The Deri Farm site has been included in Monmouthshire County Council's new Local Plan which is expected to be deposited in draft form this summer so those affected can respond. If there are objections then a public inquiry will be held, as with the Unitary Development Plan.

The 21-acre greenfield site borders the Brecon Beacons National Park at Judge's Pitch. The southern boundary borders Greystones Crescent and the land comes behind Poplars Close so it is adjacent to Llantilio Pertholey Primary School.

The developers Persimmon Homes own an option to develop the land. The company has already built an estate in Abergavenny, just off the Ross Road.

MADD chairman Robin Field said the community council held a meeting the previous week to discuss the Local Plan and head of planning George Ashworth addressed the council and answered questions. He said, "I found it frustrating that the rules meant we could not speak nor read out a statement. The head of planning spent at least half an hour promoting the site's inclusion in the plan so I felt the meeting was hardly a debate and this was not democracy in action."

Graham Hawker said he understood Mr Ashworth to say that the £2 - 3million charge for putting power lines underground and getting rid of the pylons would add £10,000 to the cost of each house, but this figure would come off the price the land owner received from the developer.

He questioned why the viability of the site was not investigated by council officials before including it in the Local Plan. Philippa Hodgkiss said it appeared that the Welsh Assembly put pressure on local councils to come up with schemes to meet their housing targets.

Les Morgan Hayes pointed out that there have been other applications in the past for the Deri Farm site but the planning department had raised objections for a scheme for 240 houses because of the density, yet now they are promoting a development which could have 300 homes.

County Councillor John Prosser, the member for Mardy explained the reasoning behind the Local Plan. He said the Assembly suggested Abergavenny as one of the hubs so MCC has to build houses on sites in the area and these had been suggested at Nantgavenny Lane, Maindiff Court and Deri Farm.

He said, "They will be looking at support services when doing an assessment of the sites so they adopt the best option, but there is never going to be a perfect site."

He added, "The sites would be subject to planning regulations so if road improvements were not good enough schemes would not get past the planning stage"

When asked for his opinion on the Deri Farm site he said he had to wear two hats - one a corporate one and the other bearing in mind the views of the residents who elected him to represent them. At the moment he would not commit himself either way because he was still gathering evidence and local opinion before deciding whether to vote for or against when the draft plan comes up for adoption by MCC members.

He said he had seen a letter from the Brecon Beacons National Park suggesting that they were not minded to be in favour of the site unless the development was smaller. "Llantilio Pertholey Community Council does not want a development of 300 houses and I am well aware of the traffic problems, especially the large lorries that go through the village, as well as the pinch points."

Chairman Robin Field said many of the assessments for the Deri Farm site were flawed and the action group had corrected much of the information from the county council. He called the sustainability assessment 'fundamentally flawed' and said the assumption that people who bought houses on the Deri Farm site would walk to doctors' surgeries in Abergavenny was wrong because it is too far.

Les Morgan Hayes said he found the wrong information offensive and said it insults their intelligence.

The next meeting of the action group will be at the New Inn public house in Mardy on June 9 at 7.30pm and anyone interested is welcome.