AN application to build 100 new homes in Caldicot has been refused. Monmouthshire County Council's planning department (MCC) made the decision at a meeting last Tuesday (1st July) despite support for the plans from local residents. The application, made by Llanhennock Investments and Fairlake Properties, was initially lodged in 2010 and sought to build 82 houses and 20 maisonettes/ flats on the land at Garthalan Drive. The site is former railway land adjoining the south-western corner of Caldicot. It is currently disused and overgrown, with evidence of its industrial past seen in areas of concrete flooring, the remnants of former buildings, and short sections of old railway line. Councillors refused the application on the grounds that the site was beyond the town boundary. They said: "The proposed development would significantly extend the built form of Caldicot into the green wedge between Rogiet and Caldicot which would result in the visual coalescence of these two settlements. This would have a damaging effect upon the individual identity of the two settlements." The planning committee also expressed concern that the number of car journeys in Caldicot would be increased because of the plot's distance from town amenities. A petition was handed in to councillors ahead of their decision from residents of Garthalan Drive. The 30 signatures urged the committee to allow the build to go ahead. The petition said: "We the residents of the West End of Caldicot feel that the land should be developed, as it is a brown field and at the moment the piece of land is neglected and misused. "As residents, we have had to put up with the noise of motorcycles scrambling up and down, fly tipping, fires and the roadway leading up to it is totally overgrown. Whereas, if the land was developed, this would cease to be the case and could possibly lead to the re-generation of the West End area as a whole. "It is a brown field opposed to a green field so therefore ideal for development. Also, the owner is proposing to develop only eight acres of a 12 acre site and also to donate a piece of land to the residents in the area for community use. "Also in the plans is the opportunity to put in a good state of repair, and add lighting to, the footpath the Severn Tunnel, which would greatly benefit people in the area."