Plans for 500 homes on Telford factory site put on hold

More than 200 people objected to a bid by J Ross Developments to develop the former Maxell factory site at Apley Wood, and scores turned out to make their feelings known at a meeting of Telford & Wrekin Council's planning committee last night.

The plastics manufacturer moved its final 70 staff out of the factory in December to a new site on the nearby Hortonwood industrial estate. Developers now want to demolish the old factory and build 540 homes on the site.

The application also includes plans for a local shopping centre which will include a supermarket and possibly a pharmacy.

Local authority planning officers had recommended approval for granting outline planning permission – a yes in principle to development of the site. But members of the planning committee went against that recommendation during their meeting at the Whitehouse Hotel in Wellington and instead opted to defer the application for further talks with the developer.

Campaigners are now hoping a revised scheme will be brought to the table to include plans to build a primary school and less homes.

Nick Scott, for J Ross Developments, said the plans would create 125 jobs to add to the 160 his firm had already created in the town. He described it as a "high quality" scheme.

But fears were expressed about the lack of existing school places in the immediate area, as well as the possible knock-on effect for traffic, especially for people trying to get to the town's Princess Royal Hospital.

Committee member Councillor Terry Kiernan said: "I think personally it is too big a development for the site. I have lived here for 20 odd years and I know as well as anyone else that if you are in Admaston at around 8.15am the roads are gridlocked.

"You can't get to the hospital for your appointment at 9am unless you leave an hour earlier than normal to beat the traffic."

Fellow committee member Councillor Nigel Dugmore expressed concerns allowing such a large development could have a knock-on effect for the future of the hospital.

"My worry is that we are currently trying to fight to keep services at the hospital, and that fight is going to be made more difficult if people are struggling to actually get to it," he said.

John Snell, a resident and governor at nearby Apley Wood Primary School, also spoke out against the scheme.

He said his school was already nearly full to capacity and pointed out there were plans in the pipeline to build more than 1,000 homes in the area including the Maxell site.

Maxell was launched in the 1960s, and has had a base in Telford for around 30 years.