600-home Shrewsbury development set to get green light

The plans, from Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes are to build the houses in two phases on land between Preston Street and London Road.

Having reviewed the proposals and responses, including those from a number of concerned residents, planning officers have now recommended that the development be given the green light.

A decision on whether to approve the proposal will be taken at Shropshire Council's Central Planning Committee next Thursday.

The plans were first unveiled at an exhibition in November 2015, and have since been the subject of criticism over a planned delay on building a second access road – despite a concession from the developers.

It is proposed to use an access of Preston Street for construction, until 250 homes are occupied. At that point a second access road would be built off London Road.

Residents of Preston Street have argued that both roads should be created from the start to cut down on disruption.

Councillor Hannah Fraser, who represents the Abbey ward which includes the development site, said residents would feel let down over the plans being recommended for approval.

She said: "I think it is a grave mistake and the planners should at least be pushing for the number of houses built rather than the number of houses occupied as the trigger for the London Road access. We would prefer that to be based on a time limit.

"People are really cross about this. They feel they have not been listened to at all. This has been going on for years and years and they have taken every opportunity to make their feelings known and they feel they have been ignored.

"I think people feel hugely let down and disillusioned. I think they feel the developers are not listening and now the council is not listening either."

Councillor Fraser also questioned the lack of community facilities included in the development, as opposed to those that feature in Shrewsbury two sustainable urban extensions.

She said: "There are a lot of other issues I hope the planning committee picks up on as well. There is no community infrastructure at all, just houses and it is a huge site – almost as big as some of the urban extensions which have doctors surgeries and community centres. There is nothing like that."

Rob Perrins, technical director of Taylor Wimpey said “We have been working on this proposed development at Weir Hill, which is allocated for housing in the council’s own site allocations plan, for a number of years.

"During the planning process we have maintained a regular dialogue with local councillors and residents through a number of local consultation events, exhibitions, newsletters and meetings. Over this time, we have endeavoured to keep people informed, provide opportunities for feedback and to have input into the overall scheme.

"We are very pleased with the planning officer’s recommendation to approve the application; which, fully addresses all the issues that have been raised and includes a range of planning conditions that will properly safeguard the area, residents and the local roads during the construction phase.

"The development is an important part of the council’s plan to deliver much needed housing, including affordable housing for the town. in addition the scheme will provide significant funds that will benefit local education and highways as well as contributing greatly with regard to council tax and new homes bonus funding.

"We are keen to move forward and commence the delivery phase of the development with our joint developers Persimmon Homes.”