Affordable homes plan approved for border village
A total of ten affordable homes will be built in a border village after planning permission was granted this week.
Rural housing association Connexus had applied for permission to develop the site in Marton, near the Welsh border with Powys, in May last year.
The development will see a mix of new two and three-bedroom properties built alongside two smaller one-bedroom units, set to be offered for shared ownership, rent to buy or affordable rent.
The scheme will extend an existing development of six houses on Groton Farm Road in the south of the village built by South Shropshire Housing Association, now part of Connexus, in 2005.
“The proposed dwellings are tenure blind but will comprise of one of three affordable tenures: affordable rent/shared ownership/rent to buy,” said a planning report by Shropshire Council.
“The rationale for this approach is to better meet the needs and aspirations of local households and offer a degree of flexibility.
“The Councils Housing Enabling Team has confirmed that there is a requirement for one bedroomed dwellings within the Parish of Chirbury and Brompton and that the Homepoint Housing Register provides the evidence for such need.”
The application received four objections from members of the public, with concerns expressed about traffic on the single-track lane leading to the site, and the effect of an increase in population on the small village infrastructure of Marton.
Chirbury with Brompton Parish Council did not offer a formal objection but added to concerns about an increase in vehicles using the lane.
“Whilst it is the responsibility of the highways officer to access safety, this parish council has concerns given the nature of this rural road, which is narrow in places and is used by residents and agricultural traffic,” they said.
“The parish council is aware that the road was lined in the past to enable pedestrians to walk with a degree of safety, these are no longer in place.”
In response to concerns, council officers said the developer added a number of road improvement measures to the scheme including the extension of a 30mph speed limit to the entrance to the site, which lies just beyond the established boundary of the village.
“Shropshire Council Highways has been consulted on the application and acknowledges that the proposed access road from B4386 to Groton Farm Road is restricted in terms of width and pedestrian and cycle facilities, however they advise that in view of the scale of the proposed development and the likely number of trips generated they would not raise any objection to the granting of consent.
“In order to mitigate the impact of the development, the applicant has agreed to facilitate the reinstatement of the white line marking along the carriageway between the development site and B4386 and extend the existing 30mph speed limit to incorporate the site access.”
