Telford homes plan takes step forward despite concerns

Telford and Wrekin Council, on behalf of landowner Homes England, had applied for outline permission to build the houses on land west of Majestic Way, Aqueduct.

The borough’s planning committee voted 6-2 in favour, but Councillor Ian Fletcher pointed out an officers’ report said the six-acre site had a medium risk of flooding, being directly downstream of the Wide Water reservoir.

“I don’t think we really can support an application where there is a possibility, albeit ‘medium’, of the houses being inundated,” he said.

Councillor Fletcher pointed out that an officer’s report said: “Reservoir flooding is considered to be a high hazard but the probability of flooding from reservoir inundation is low.

“Given the proximity of the site to the reservoir and the height of the dam, it is also anticipated that the velocity of any inundation flows would be high.

“The risk of reservoir inundation to the site therefore is considered to be medium.”

The report, which recommended that the eight-member committee approve the outline proposal, recommended that “additional modelling is undertaken to establish the extent any inundation flows would affect the site” and added there was a “negligible” risk of groundwater flooding.

Dawley Hamlets Parish Council member Bob Wennington said the road, a school-run route to Madeley Academy, was often reduced to one lane by parked cars.

Kate Barnes, an assistant headteacher at the Castlefields Way school, said the road was not safe due to speeding cars and low visibility.

Pressure

“Adding housing to the area will put further pressure on,” she said.

Mrs Barnes, who is also a governor at Aqueduct Primary School, was speaking on behalf of a group of residents who had met in opposition to the plans the previous week, and were also concerned about the loss of green space.

“As one local teenager said to me, we are losing our last nice thing in Aqueduct,” she said.

Councillor Wennington pointed out that Aqueduct surgery is one of three sites that GP ‘super-practice’ Teldoc plan to close.

He asked: “When it closes, what about the pharmacy that is next to it? That is another resource that may go.

“And, meanwhile, we’re increasing the number of people who are coming here.”

Fellow committee member Peter Scott said: “There are a lot of things that are quite good about this application. It’s 25 per cent affordable housing, that’s always good to see.”

He said at the full planning permission stage, “I would like to see the possibility of a speed reduction scheme along this road”.