Ammanford News
Dinefwr Riding Centre arena gets the nod
6:40am Saturday 18th February 2012
A NEW outdoor arena and car park at Ammanford’s Dinefwr Riding Centre has been approved by county planners - despite objections from the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.
According to the authority, the development would be visible from the park boundary across the road.
“The new facilities will appear as a random, sporadic development that would have a detrimental impact on the visual amenity and setting of the national park,” it declared.
But planning officer Kevin Phillips said the existing situation at Dinefwr Riding Centre was restrictive, with limited room to expand and improve the business.
“Changing the use of the land to the keeping of horses, a riding arena and car park is not usually the type of development that rural restraint policies support,”
he added.
“However, the proposal needs to be balanced between the harm caused and the continued expansion of the business.”
Councillors approved an application fromMr and Mrs Tim Jenner for a 65m by 30m arena to the rear and west of existing buildings at Cregian, Llandyfan.
There will also be a total of 23 parking spaces, four of them for vehicles with trailers.
Mr Phillips said the development would relocate part of the riding school from Cregian, with the provision of horse riding lessons and fortnightly events on a Sunday.
“While the national park is across the highway, there are no direct vantage points into the site from any public areas,” he added.
“If this was the case, then they would see the golf course further west, which has already changed the visual amenity of the landscape to a certain extent."