Fresh date for decision over controversial 800 homes green belt plan in Albrighton

Boningale Homes has been seeking permission to develop a site to the south of Albrighton, on Green Belt land.

The proposal, which has attracted huge levels of local opposition, includes 800 homes, a potential secondary school, as well as a care home and 'local centre'.

It had been expected that the application would go before Shropshire Council's Southern Planning Committee this month - on December 17.

Ahead of that date e-mails between the agents acting for Boningale and Shropshire Council's planning department revealed the developer's concerns that the proposal was set to be rejected.

But, now it has emerged that the application will not be considered this month, and is instead likely to be heard at the February 25 meeting of the committee.

E-mails between the applicant and Shropshire Council show that Boningale has been given more time before a decision on the proposal - to allow for consultation on material requested by statutory consultees.

The application has attracted huge levels of local opposition with hundreds of objections from residents.

The delay in sending the application to committee comes after e-mails sent from Boningale's planning agents to the council last month revealed that the developer was concerned the application would be rejected.

An email from Marrons Planning said: "We appreciate your confirmation of the direction of travel with regard to the application, although admittedly I am surprised that you have confirmed that the recommendation will be to refuse the application rather than suggesting that is your current consideration of the application – particularly given that by the time of any planning committee, both national and local policy could or indeed will imminently be in a fundamentally different position."

The firm also highlighted Shropshire Council's current issues over the state of its local plan review - with inspectors having halted hearings into the plan last month.

The local plan inspectors have still not revealed how, or if, they intend to proceed with the process.

Any decision to halt the local plan process entirely could have significant implications for planning applications across the Shropshire Council area - including Boningale's proposal for Albrighton.

It is a development not lost on the firm, whose agents highlighted the issue with Shropshire Council's planning department last month, saying: "It will be of no surprise to the council that the applicant will be appealing any refusal, particularly given the significant change in national policy and what we expect to be a situation where the council do not have an up-to-date Local Plan and a very significant shortfall in housing land supply."