Plans for former Telford factory site set for approval despite historic canal lock concerns

Telford & Wrekin's planning committee is set to give the green light for the building of five units at Hadley Castle Works, the former home of Telford factory GKN Sankey, when it meets next week.

The 46.6-hectare site has been used for manufacturing processes for an extensive number of years before the application by Birmingham-based company Mercia Real Estate (HPE) Limited - most recently having been the home of GKN Sankey.

The site also includes two Grade II listed structures, the Turnip Locks and the Hadley Park Lock, which previously served the Trench branch of the Old Shropshire Union Canal.

The company submitted plans to build five new units with up to 90,951 square metres of commercial floor space at the site, with office space, parking and gatehouses just last month.

The proposal quickly attracted several objections, including from Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council who objected to the height of the buildings, the increase in traffic and the impact on the Grade II listed locks.

Councillor Gemma Offland, who requested the application be determined by the planning committee, also raised concerns about the scale of the development close to residential properties.

The historic locks were also a concern of Built Heritage Conservation, which said the development would mean "substantial intrusion" on the rural setting of Turnip Lock.

But the report, which will be presented at the planning meeting, stresses that the council "will not support development that would detract from or damage the setting of a listed building".

The documents state that the setting of the historical locks has already been "harmed... to some degree" with the loss of their original agricultural setting and the surrounding modern housing estate.

The report also notes that the distance between the historic locks and the buildings has been increased and there are plans for a "landscape buffer" between the canal and the new development.

Furthermore, the developers have offered to include a series of repairs and enhancements to the locks as mitigation, including desilting the canal, re-pointing the locks and the creation of a viewing area.

The report added: "Officers would re-iterate that the application site is located within the Strategic Employment Area, where this form of development is directed to within the Local Plan.

"The proposed units are expected to deliver approximately 1,800 jobs and will secure a significant amount of investment within the Borough.

"It is acknowledged within the objections received that the Locks are visited by a number of tourists and local residents, wishing to view the early examples of guillotine locks.

"The restoration works agreed to by the Applicant, would see the locks future-proofed and safeguarded for future generations to view and appreciate.

"The details of the restoration works would be secured via condition and the applicant will be required to deliver these prior to the first occupation of the units subject to this application."

The planning committee are set to recommend the plans for approval when they meet next Wednesday, September 4.