'No tangible risks': Telford homes plan given green light after ground stability concerns
Six new houses could built near a junction in Snedshill after outline planning permission was granted.
GN Groundworks plans to build the detached and semi-detached homes on waste ground near the meeting point of Church Road, Furnace Road and Holyhead Road.
St Georges and Priorslee Parish Council have previously objected to development on the half-acre site because of ground stability concerns, but an engineer’s report provided by the Telford-based developer says the is “no tangible risk” in building there.
Telford and Wrekin Council’s planning department has granted outline permission, but more detailed proposals will need to be submitted and approved before building can begin.
The application is for up to six homes, but maps submitted by the company show they plan to build two pairs of semi-detached houses and two detached houses. Access would be off Church Road, and 18 car parking spaces would be provided.
When considering a 2017 application from a different developer for five houses on the same site, St Georges and Priorslee Parish Council agreed to oppose the application.
Minutes of that meeting say their concerns included overdevelopment of the area, road safety and land stability.
A coalmining risk assessment, commissioned by architects working for GN Groundworks, notes that the site “lies within a former mining area where past undrground workings for coal, fireclay and ironstone are widespread” but “the Coal Authority holds no records of any coal working beneath this site, even at depth”.
Assessment author Nigel Williams concludes that the site “carries no tangible risks normally associated with building in a former mining development”.
When consulted about the GN Groundworks application, the parish council said it “continues its objection to this development on the same grounds as previously stated”.
