AN outpouring of anger has been expressed by residents as plans for 576 new homes near Cosmeston Country Park have been revealed.

The plans on the Welsh Government-owned land stretching from Lavernock Road to the coast include a new primary school, community facilities and public open space.

But criticism of the plans has been fierce, ranging from fears over congestion to worries from archaeologists that the development would wreck an area of historical interest.

The Welsh Government is promising 40 per cent of the houses will be affordable, and there would be a major new pedestrian and cycle link from the coastal path to Cosmeston Lakes.

One of the focal points of anger are the 16th century farmhouse buildings at Lower Cosmeston Farm, that would be demolished to make room for the development.

The farmhouses, some of the oldest buildings in the Penarth area, are structurally intact and retain a great deal of architectural features, like a stone spiral staircase, fireplaces with lintels, bread ovens and wooden corbels.

Archaeologist and Vale resident Mark Lambert said: “Every heritage expert I’ve spoken to thus far has agreed this is a site of significant historical interest.

“But the planning applications don’t reflect that.

“We’ve actually spoken to Cadw and they said they would do an assessment - the farmhouse should be protected by them.”

Brother and fellow archaeologist Jonathan Lambert agreed. “This is a fossilised, intact medieval landscape,” he said.

“There’s an exclusion zone around Cosmeston medieval village but there is so much evidence here at risk.

“The trenches put in the test site by developers to find evidence of medieval settlement are just 1m by 1m - they aren’t sufficient to find anything.

“Statutory protection is the only thing that will protect this site. And on top of that, there’s so much biodiversity here - birds, frogs, snakes and more - but developers are running roughshod over it.”

The brothers hope the building and surrounding fields will be scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act.

“It’s a site of local and national historical significance,” said Johnathan. “You wouldn’t build over Cosmeston Medieval Village. This is no different.”

Read more about the Lambert's objections on their website.

Access to the new homes would be via two new junctions on Lavernock Road.

The estate would be split into four areas – named Llyr Calchfaen, Hedgerow Holm, Gardd Der Y Mor and Marconi’s Heights.

Up to two car parking spaces would be allocated to each home, and the primary school would have two forms of entry.

There would also be around two-and-a-half acres of public open space, including children’s play areas and outdoor sports space, and an extension of the national cycle route network 88 through a disused railway line into Penarth Town Centre.

Resident Jon Dewis said: “The traffic here will be horrendous. Not only are they looking to knock down the oldest standing house in Cosmeston, but it will make life hell for those already living here.

“All the 500 odd houses will have two parking spaces. If everyone has one car, that’s 500 cars on the road at least. They say there won’t be any problems but it’s rubbish.

“Sometimes it takes 10 minutes to get out of my drive onto Lavernock Road, and that’s now.”

Vale councillor Kevin Mahoney said: “An extra 576 houses with space for 300 more is the equivalent of slapping an extra village here. It will be chaos - the planned infrastructure, coupled with the doctors surgeries all being sited in the new Cogan Wellbeing Hub will spell disaster.”

The public are being asked for their views on the plans ahead of a formal application is submitted to Vale of Glamorgan Council. A consultation is held on Asbri Planning’s website until October 14.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "Welsh Government-owned land at Cosmeston, Penarth has been proposed for residential development by the Vale of Glamorgan Council in it's Local Development Plans.

"Our officials are currently progressing a range of studies associated with bringing the land forward for development. The lastest public consultation event took place earlier this week."