Revised homes bid is given go-ahead

Councillors have given the green light for 186 homes to be built on a site in Telford as part of a £60 million development on the site of the former Courts building in Woodside.

Members of Telford & Wrekin Council's plans board yesterday approved the proposals which are a scaled down version of plans originally submitted by Bellway Homes for the development last year.

A report to the meeting said the developer given the go ahead to build 191 properties, but had since been forced to scale back the plan due to a slump in the housing market.

The report said Bellway Homes wanted to create a "sense of identity and sense of place" "vastly different" to the existing estate.

The improvements backed yesterday will include traffic calming on the estate, prominent buildings to act as focal points, pedestrian links to the school and wider area and retention of an oak tree as a key landscape feature.

The Courts flats buildings were demolished by the former English Partnerships group in 2003, but the site has remained clear ever since.

Plans board members approved the plan unanimously.

A multi-million-pound, 10-year regeneration project took its next step last month when the regeneration for the rest of the estate was unveiled.

The latest homes plan had sparked concerns from Madeley Parish Council members who said they felt the level of affordable housing proposed, namely 10 per cent, was inadequate.

The report to yesterday's meeting said, however: "The applicants have worked with the Wrekin Housing Trust to develop the care home to the north, by giving up part of their land holding to facilitate development of that facility.

"Moreover, they have offered a further 20 affordable housing units and agreed the nature of their provision in terms of tenure with the strategic housing officer."