The long awaited day - Wednesday July 11 !

The planning application last submitted by the owner of Ruperra Castle in June 2006 will come before the planning committee of Caerphilly County Borough Council on July 11. Enough information has now been provided for this to take place.

It seems that the Welsh Assembly Government is allowing the correct legal process to take place, namely that local planning applications should be determined by the local authority.

The planning department in the Assembly has not yet seen the final report from the county planning department, but Jane Davidson,the new Minister for Sustainability and Rural Affairs has been informed of the timetable.

A briefing document is being prepared by Ruperra Castle Action Group for distribution to the councillors who sit on the planning committee. If you so wish you can inform your local councillor, or members of the planning committee, of your belief that enabling development is not the right solution for Ruperra.

Little Movement

The Ruperra planning application did not come before the plannong committee on 9 May - we had always doubted that it would. It didn't come up in the 30 May meeting either. It seems that the unresolved matters still remained.

However it may come up on 20 June and if not on 11 July. We are watching the situation and there will be more news as soon as possible.

Wales now has a new Minister for Planning - Jane Davidson.