Major housing development in Newport takes step forward

Outline permission for the estate, west of Station Road, Newport, was granted last November, and Bloor Homes Ltd has now applied for full consent.

A design statement by the Tamworth-based company says 60 of the houses will be classed as affordable and a third of the 35-acre site will consist of open space including grassland, a community orchard and play areas.

The site spans the Newport Town Council area and the parishes of Church Aston and Chetwynd Aston & Woodcote. All three bodies will be consulted and Telford and Wrekin Council will make its decision at a later date.

A design statement, submitted by Bloor Homes planning director Maxwell Whitehead, says: “The site is approximately 14.35 hectares and is currently in agricultural use.

“The A518 runs along the southeastern boundary of the site.

“Immediately to the north is a post-1960s estate that was built between Wellington Road and the railway line.

“It is proposed that 60 of the dwellings on the site will be affordable.

“A mix of houses and bungalows will be provided, including some that will meet building regulations for adaptable and accessible dwellings.

“The private housing proposed is predominantly three- and four-bedroom family housing, with a small number of two- and five-bedroom units also provided. The dwellings are arranged as detached and semi-detached houses and short terraces.

“Of the 14.35-hectare site, around 4.99 hectares will be laid out as public open space.”

This open space would include an equipped play area, a multi-sport court, a community orchard and green corridors. The four-storey extra care facility, if approved, would contain 70 apartments and stand at the northeast side of the site against Station Road.

A separate statement, outlining Bloor Homes’s public consultation process, says, 84 people completed an online survey and more than two thirds of these “did not agree that there is a need for new homes in the area”.

“In answer to this, the project team wish to clarify that the site already has permission in principle for delivering new homes by Telford & Wrekin Council,” the statement says, adding that the land in question is “ideally located for residential development in close proximity to a variety of local services”.

Forty-two people answered a separate question asking what other community facilities they would like to see on the site “with a majority calling for an additional medical centre/GP surgery in the area”.

The statement adds: “Bloor Homes acknowledges that new development inevitable increases the number of people that use local services and infrastructure such as schools, GP surgeries and local roads.

“Bloor Homes will work with Telford & Wrekin Council to identify financial contributions that can be made to support local facilities. The local authority will make the final decision on where such funds are spent.”