Controversial 600-home Shrewsbury estate bid backed by planners
A controversial 600-home housing estate on the outskirts of Shrewsbury should be approved, planning officers say.
Joint developers Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes have applied to Shropshire Council for permission to build a total of 600 homes at Weir Hill, off Preston Street.
Concerns over access to and from the site led to a decision being put off in November.
But now experts have told councillors, who are due to meet next week to discuss the new estate, that they are recommending approval.
The plans have been the subject of criticism over the building of a second access road off London Road. The developers had said that building of the new road would be triggered once a certain number of homes are occupied but objectors said the road should be built earlier to help alleviate problems caused by construction traffic.
The developers highlighted that the site has already been allocated for housing in the council's planning blueprint for Shropshire, known as SAMDev.
In a report to committee members, the council officers state: "The site allocation that has been adopted in SAMDev does not place a ceiling on 150 homes accessing off Preston Street. Rather, it allows for a different figure if justified through a detailed, site specific transport assessment.
"The applicants have complied with this and the highway authority has not raised objection to the scheme subject to planning conditions and a 106 agreement covering matters such as the widening of Preston Street, works to Belvidere Bridge and a construction environmental management plan."
In relation to the Riverside Park the developers have said it will be created in two phases. Planning officers said there was adequate provision for play and other recreational space in the first phase. They said the site is within walking or bus distance of a range of services.
