Flood-hit Cleobury Mortimer family wins new home approval
A family that has been plagued by floods will be able to build a new home in a safer area.
Plans for the two-storey property with a garage and an attached workshop in Cleobury Mortimer were approved by Shropshire Council yesterday.
Councillors heard during yesterday's South Planning Committee meeting in Westgate, Bridgnorth, that Mr and D. Mrs Bills and their family had been flooded five times in the last few years.
They asked for permission to build a replacment home on a site a short distance from their existing dwelling after claiming it was no longer tenable.
The new house will now be built west of Walfords Bridge, in Neen Savage.
Speaking during the meeting, Gwilym Butler, Shropshire Councillor for Cleobury Mortimer, said: "I fully support this application, which is the best solution to the existing problem.
"It's a new build in the right place and the property will be in keeping with other properties."
Madge Shineton, who is also a councillor for Cleobury, said the family had been flooded five times since the recent summer floods.
She said: "The River Rea has always been unpredictable but it is getting more unpredictable every year. I cannot see any other answer to this problem."
Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Councillor for the Corvedale Division, said: "The most important thing is we move the family away from the floodland.
"I am also pleased there will be a remediation of the footpath.
"The land can no longer be used for residential use. It's a very sensitive solution to an unpleasant situation."
Neen Savage Parish Council said it supported the need for a replacement house but claimed the applicant's insurance assessment, resulting in refusal for insurance, was not a structural engineer's report of a dangerous or unsafe building.
The council also objected to the size and location of the new house, and raised concerns about sight lines and visibility for vehicle access to the new driveway, which it claimed would be poor in both directions.
Further concerns were raised about the impact on adjacent hedgerows, verges and an open ditch.
