An application for village green status for a site near Brecon, which includes part of a former primary school playing area, has been rejected by councillors.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s (PCC) Planning Committee yesterday (Thursday), councillors were acting as the “commons registration authority” to decide the village green application.

The application had been lodged by Bronllys Green Group with the council back in April 2020, although they had made earlier attempts to submit it going back to 2018.

The site in question is part of the playing area of the former Bronllys Primary School and the adjoining play area at Neuadd Terrace.

However, it does not include the ground where the now-demolished school building once stood.

In April 2022, the council’s housing service objected to the village green application.

This followed the council being granted planning permission in September 2021 to build a mix of one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes, along with bungalows on the site.

At a Planning Committee meeting in August 2022, councillors agreed that an independent planning inspector should examine the application and provide a recommendation for the council to consider.

Granting the site village green status would have reduced the development from 17 to eight houses.

Last November, a two-day hearing was held in Bronllys by PEDW (Planning and Environment Decisions Wales), which heard arguments for and against the proposal.

Planning inspector Siân Worden provided a report and recommendation on the application, which was presented to councillors by countryside access and recreation professional lead officer Sian Barnes.

Ms Barnes explained that the crux of the application was whether the site met the legal criteria for registration as set out in the Commons Act.

She told councillors that the inspector had said the application met the criteria in one area, noting that there had been recreational use of the land over the necessary 20-year period.

However, it did not meet the criteria in another area called “statutory incompatibility,” which is a “bar to registration.”

Ms Barnes explained that statutory incompatibility occurs when land is held for a “good public purpose” by a public body.

She said: “The inspector notes in her report that the land has been appropriated for education and then later for housing – so it is held for a good public purpose.

“The inspector recommends that the application is refused and the land not registered.”

Cllr Gareth E. Jones (Powys Independents – Llanelwedd) asked whether permission by a headteacher to use the field would have a bearing on the application.

Ms Barnes replied: “That would be incompatible with the school’s statutory purpose.”

Cllr Angela Davies (Liberal Democrat – Rhayader) said: “The legalities around this have been explained. I feel very sorry for the community for losing the green space, but there are no grounds to go against the recommendation.”

The committee then voted, with 10 councillors supporting the rejection of the application and one voting against the refusal.