Due to a conflict of interest, an independent planning inspector will be brought in to judge an application to register land at the former Bronllys primary school near Brecon as a village green.

Powys County Council’s planning committee will be told at a meeting on Thursday, August 18, that the council’s housing service are opposing the village green application thus creating the conflict of interest.

This is because the housing services have planning permission to build 17 affordable homes at the former school site.

The village green application by Terry Hurford chairman of the Bronllys Green Group was lodged with Powys back in April 2020.

The planning application for the homes which are a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroomed homes and two adapted bungalows was approved at a planning committee meeting in September 2021.

It was pointed out at that meeting that a village green application for the site had been made.

Planning officers told the committee that they could decide the plans at the meeting, but that building work would need to wait until after the village green application had been decided.

It was not until April 2022 that the housing service formally lodged an objection to the village green application.

In a report, head of highways transport and recycling, Matt Perry said: “This report is solely to seek the committee’s view as to how the application should be determined.”

He explains that even if an inspector is brought in provide a recommendation based on the evidence, the council is still responsible for deciding the village green application.

Mr Perry said: “Rather, an independent inspector will prepare a report and recommendation, as the basis on which the committee can then make a decision.”

“The council does own the land affected by this application, so a recommendation from independent inspector would offer impartiality.”

Bronllys along with Talgarth Primary School, closed its doors on August 31, 2017, as part of a school reorganisation programme in Powys.

A new 150 place community primary school, Ysgol Y Mynydd Du was opened in Talgarth to take pupils from both schools.