Tentative council support for Market Drayton retirement flats plan
Two council departments have given their conditional support to a plan for about 50 retirement flats in the centre of Market Drayton.
Developer McCarthy & Stone applied in July last year for permission to demolish derelict buildings at 36 Stafford Street and build a retirement complex.
It was involved in a dispute over noise with Asda, which runs a supermarket nearby and feared that early morning deliveries would lead to noise complaints.
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Asda dropped its objection after the designs were revised, and Shropshire Council's highways and conservation departments have now given their verdict.
A report from the highways team recommended 'conditional acceptance', with those conditions including that gates should be installed at least five metres from the edge of the road and open inwards only.
Meanwhile a conservation officer wrote: "No objection in principle to the redevelopment of this site."
She went on: "The existing site (its use and structures thereon) does not contribute to the character and appearance of the conservation area nor does it contribute to the significance of the adjacent designated heritage assets as none of the existing structures on the site are of architectural or historic merit due to their age of amount of alteration.
"Whilst we would acknowledge that redevelopment could cause less than substantial harm to the designated heritage assets adjacent the site... we would suggest that the harm caused to the designated heritage assets is not over and above that of the harm caused by the existing structures on the site or the space leakage et cetera caused by the lack of a viable use that provides visual vibrancy on the site."
