Homes set for green light despite protests

A final decision on whether 25 affordable houses and flats will be built off Watling Street, at Sibdon, on the edge of Craven Arms, will be made at a meeting next week.

The project was granted permission in principle by councillors in November, and the details of what will be built – including the appearance, layout and scale of the site – will go before Shropshire Council's south planning committee at Shirehall at 2pm on Tuesday.

The plans are recommended for approval, but neighbours have objected to the estate – which is on the edge of Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – as they are worried about an increase in traffic and a potential risk to the safety of children playing outdoors.

Tim Rogers, a planning officer at Shropshire Council, said the estate will include four one-bedroom flats, four one-bedroom houses, four two-bedroom bungalows, eight two-bedroom houses and five three bedroom houses.

He said the western side of the site will be screened from the edge of the Shropshire Hills.

"The Shropshire Way public footpath would continue to run through the west of the site," he said. "But it is proposed to divert the footpath and enhance the route."

It is recommended to go ahead as "the proposed scheme would not detract from the wider landscape setting of Craven Arms and the AONB in terms of layout," he said.

"The design of the internal road network would not be detrimental to highway safety," he said, adding it "would have no significant impact on neighbour amenity and would deliver a mix of affordable housing for the locality."

But some neighbours have disagreed and eight objections have been lodged.

Natalie Curtis, who lives on Watling Street, said: "I have major concerns for our children's safety. At the moment the road is quiet, but if a housing estate is built behind our house, the road will become more busy and there will be more people around. With the way of the world nowadays, children are not safe as it is. To increase the population in this area, increases the danger to my children."

Fellow resident Christine Alpin said: "The appearance of the properties is not in keeping with other properties within the Sibdon parish and certainly not sympathetic to the two properties they are surrounding."

Emily Holden said: "There are brownfield sites identified in Craven Arms which should be built on first. To put 25 affordable houses in a small parish will be completely out of scale."