Plan for 97 new homes in Market Drayton to be discussed

Market Drayton Town Council's planning committee is to meet on Thursday to discuss a planning application for a housing development at Longford Turning, immediately east of the Tern Valley Business Park on the western edge of Market Drayton.

The Healey Estate has applied for permission to build 97 houses at Longford Turning. The development would include a country park and woodland walk.

Market Drayton residents, including at nearby Sherwood Crescent, have objected to the plans. People have said the alterations to the existing Damson Wood Walk would harm the quality of life of people living nearby.

This week Shropshire Council granted an application for the area to be considered an Asset of Community Value. The community will be informed if it is listed for sale within the five year listing period. The community can then enact the Community Right to Bid, which gives them a moratorium period of six months to determine if they can raise the finance to purchase the asset.

More than 100 comments have been submitted to Shropshire Council's planning portal. Emma Bennett wrote this week: "The area for access is quiet, this amount of houses is going to cause a high level of traffic in the area.

Established woodland

"The development is next to a popular walking spot, having this level of traffic will increase the noise level.

"This will remove a piece of land used everyday by hundreds of people in Market Drayton."

Richard Greenwood wrote: "This is probably the only site in and around Market Drayton where the public have access to such an area of established woodland, so its loss should not be underestimated.

"Whilst the existing right-of-way and pedestrian access from Shrewsbury Road through to the Tern Valley is maintained within the plans, this 'tree-lined path beside a housing estate' is a poor replacement for the quiet woodland that the public are currently able to experience.

"I am also concerned about the proposals within the Tern Valley itself. People currently visit the valley for a 'wild' riverside walk. The proposal for a 'themed' country park with parking spaces does not necessarily seem, to me, to be an improvement – particularly if it is to be full of children from an adjacent 97-home housing development using it as their local playground."

Market Drayton Town Council's planning committee will discuss the application and decide its position on it at Thursday's meeting. Learn more and find out how to attend the meeting remotely at marketdrayton.gov.uk.