Telford council will fight plans for 300 homes in Wellington

Despite a ruling by the Government's Planning Inspector to permit the development on Haygate Fields, Telford & Wrekin Council says it will challenge the decision.

The development, proposed on the land by Wellington Cricket Club, off Haygate Road, has faced much criticism from local residents who have even formed the Save Haygate Fields Group in a bid to fight the proposals.

Russell Griffin, a spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "Telford & Wrekin Council takes very seriously its responsibility to plan for future housing growth.

"The new Telford and Wrekin Local Plan has involved extensive consultation with stakeholders and residents and consequently sets out proposals for the development of 15,500 new homes in locations that will support and protect local communities and ensure the managed growth of the Town.

"In the light of this, it is clearly appropriate that the Council challenges decisions which it considers are wrong, which threaten this managed growth and which could potentially damage important areas of countryside'.

"For these reasons and in the interests of our residents, we have decided to challenge the decision of the Government's Planning Inspector to allow proposals for up to 290 homes off Haygate Road, Wellington.

"We firmly believe we have a robust five year land supply and that our planning policies are relevant, helpful and necessary to protect our most important greenspaces while providing opportunities for new homes and jobs across our Borough.

"If we do not fight this case there is an increased risk of inappropriate large scale encroachment into open countryside and an undermining of our strategy to focus development where it supports the delivery of services and the future of our borough towns."

At the start of April, inspector David Wildsmith upheld an appeal by Gladman Developments against Telford & Wrekin Council's decision to refuse planning permission to build hundreds of homes on Haygate Fields, north of Haygate Road, Wellington.

Outline planning permission was initially granted by the council but planning chiefs ordered it to be looked at again, claiming Telford already had enough housing either already built or in the pipeline for the next five years.

The developer lodged an appeal with the national Planning Inspectorate, claiming the council had taken too long to make a decision.

Hundreds of people had signed petitions to try to stop the development going ahead at the site, which is near to the town's cricket club and known to locals as Haygate Fields.

And the Haygate Fields Group even fundraised to pay for a barrister to help them fight developers.