RHIWDERIN residents were left devastated, after Planning inspectors overturned Newport council’s decision to refuse proposals for a residential development on the village allotment site.

Newport planning committee members rejected proposals submitted by Newbridge Estates Ltd for a residential development with new allotments on land ot the north and adjacent to Gloch Wen Farm, Harlech Drive, Rhiwderin in December last year.

The committee’s rejection was on the grounds that the development was not necessary and the existing allotments would be lost.

But the developers took the council’s decision to the Planning Inspectorate for Wales and after a hearing in March, the plans have now been approved.

The saga over the site started in early 2008 when tenants were given notice to quit by February 2009.

Newbridge Estates offered tenants a new site, but holders said the replacement plots would not have the same quality of soil.

Fiona Northfield, secretary of the Rhiwderin Allotment Association, said the whole village was “devastated” by the inspector’s decision.

She said: “A lot of people have taken it really quite badly. We are concerned that there could be such an overwhelming rejection from the community, Newport City Council and the community council and then it could just be pushed through by an inspector who doesn’t understand the community and the issues.”

She said that although some members had moved to the new allotments, many of the group would not, and said the association felt public opinion was ignored.

During the appeal, inspector Ian Osborne, said the existing allotments were “visually unattractive” and the proposed houses would be a visual improvement.

Mr Osborne said that with reasonable preparation of the soil, the replacement allotments would be “of a similar, if not better, standard than the existing ones.”

The plans were given conditional approval.