Appeal hearings called over refused plans for two new care homes in Market Drayton

Shropshire Council rejected proposals for a 60-bed home in Great Hales Street on December 6 last year, and turned down a 66-bed scheme for Sych Farm off Adderley Road just weeks later on December 23.

The applicants behind the projects have now appealed the refusals to the Planning Inspectorate, which has said a hearing is needed in both cases before decisions can be made on whether to overturn the council’s rulings.

The proposals for the former Phoenix Garage site in Great Hales Street were put forward by developers Frontier Estates, with the home to be run by Maria Mallaband Care Group.

Objections were received from 30 members of the public as well as Market Drayton Town Council, citing concerns that the building would be out of keeping with the town’s conservation area, the potential impact on neighbouring businesses and residents, and that there was insufficient parking.

The Environment Agency and the council’s own ecology team also objected.

Planning officers cited four reasons for refusing the scheme, saying more information was needed to show the development would “not cause pollution issues for the underground water system”, or have an impact on protected species such as bats.

They also said there was not enough information about how the applicants had considered the potential impact of living next to a pub on future residents of the care home, and said they had concerns over the “unsuitable level of usable good quality open space”.

Their report concluded: “While there is no objection in principle to the proposed scheme it is considered that there are issues which would need to be resolved before a scheme could be recommended for approval.”

Meanwhile the plans for Sych Farm, lying just outside the town on the other side of the bypass, were put forward by LNT Care Developments.

The company, which had already had a previous application knocked back earlier in the year, promised 50 to 60 new jobs would be created at the new home.

The scheme did not attract any public objections and was supported by Adderley Parish Council.

However planning officers said the applicants had not justified why there were no alternative employment uses for the site, which is close to other industrial buildings.

They also said more information was needed on how noise impacts on future residents would be mitigated, and to justify the loss of the historic farm buildings which are considered ‘non designated heritage assets’.

A report refusing the plans said: “The scheme is considered to be contrary to the adopted local plan and no evidence has been provided to demonstrate that appropriate design mitigation has been considered to reduce noise impact for the future occupiers of the building.

“In addition insufficient information has been provided with regard to the heritage assessment of the non-designated heritage assets or that appropriate active marketing for the existing buildings has been carried out recently.”

Following the refusal, the council secured an ‘Article Four Direction’ on the farm buildings, meaning they cannot be demolished without planning permission first being obtained.

LNT Developments objected to the direction being confirmed, saying: “the Article Four Direction will prevent a multi-million-pound, employment generating community use coming forward on the site, or any alternative development which would help regenerate the area and boost the local economy.

“The Article Four Direction will not ‘save’ the buildings in question, and in proposing this, the council do not offer any financial grant or investment of any kind, to preserve or refurbish the buildings which are already in a poor state of repair and no longer fit for purpose.

“The farm operations are being relocated to a modern farm nearby, and the buildings are now only for ancillary storage, with no prospects for future conversion to a new viable use.”

Despite this, the council confirmed the direction, saying: “It is considered that the demolition of the historic farmstead and farmhouse would result in total loss of significance of the site, identified as a set of non-designated heritage assets.

“It is considered that there is a significant risk that the demolition of the historic farmstead and farmhouse without planning permission will proceed unless an Article Four Notice is served to prevent this occurring.”

The appeal hearing for the care home at the Sych Farm site has been booked for October 24, with a date for the hearing into the Great Hales Street appeal expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.