School's homes plan refused for second time
A school’s bid to build two houses on land near its campus has been turned down for a second time, after the Planning Inspectorate backed the council’s refusal.
Wrekin College applied to build a pair of semi-detached homes on land behind the Wrekin Day Nursery building it owns in Wellington.
Telford and Wrekin Council turned down the outline bid in May, and government-appointed inspector Paul Cooper has dismissed the school’s appeal saying the proposed homes would be an “uncharacteristic intrusion, at odds with the established pattern of development on Roslyn Road and Sutherland Avenue”.
He added that the project would include felling one protected tree and could jeopardise others.
Blueprints submitted on Wrekin College’s behalf by Shrewsbury-based planning agency Berrys in March showed the homes would have been built on the east side of the site of college-owned Woodthorne House with a shared driveway leading onto Roslyn Road.
Wrekin College, an independent day and boarding school for 11 to 18-year-old boys and girls, has its main buildings along Sutherland Road and Sutherland Avenue. Previously used as a music block, Woodthorne House, at the junction where Sutherland Avenue meets Roslyn Road, now houses Wrekin Day Nursery.
A planning statement, also by Berrys, said the number of homes planned had been revised down from three to two “ensuring the development is not cramped and doesn’t constitute overdevelopment”, and their design had aimed to “be in keeping with the historic street pattern”.
“Two additional dwellings would contribute to the local and national housing supply by supporting housing targets which would also assist the local economy through increased custom for local businesses,” it added.
'Uncharacteristic'
Telford and Wrekin Council’s refusal notice, issued in May, said the plans were still “cramped” and “would cause an unnecessary fragmentation” of the site.
In his Planning Inspectorate decision notice, upholding the authority’s decision, Mr Cooper writes: “The dwellings in the vicinity are mainly set in generous-sized plots, giving an overall sense of spaciousness. ‘Backland development’, such as the appeal proposal, does not form part of the local area.
“From the adjacent properties and their gardens, the dwellings would appear as an uncharacteristic intrusion, at odds with the established pattern of development on Roslyn Road and Sutherland Avenue.”
Mr Cooper rules that they violate a policy, within the Telford and Wrekin Local Plan, which expects development to “respond positively to its context, enhance the quality of the built environment and preserve and reinforce street patterns and layouts”.
The council’s decision notice also said the development would “result in significantly detrimental impacts” to trees on the site that are protected by Tree Preservation Orders.
Mr Cooper backs this, saying the plans would require a TPO-protected tree to be felled “without any replacements or mitigation proposed”.
Mr Cooper writes that he disagrees with the school’s view that the benefits of the homes would outweigh the loss of the tree, and says there is a “reasonable likelihood” future occupants of the homes would seek to prune or fell further trees.
