Refusal for 126-home plan on edge of town as several flaws identified

The scheme proposed a total of 126 houses including 13 ‘affordable’ properties for land between Adderley Road and the A53, near the Gingerbread Man roundabout on the outskirts of Market Drayton.

Applicants Bellway Homes said the development would help to make up for a shortfall in houses being built in the area before the end of the current housing guidelines in 2026.

And while Shropshire Council agreed that the development would help with housing delivery targets – they said the scheme provided insufficient public open space, and the applicants claim that an exception could be made because the space was sufficiently ‘high quality’ did not stand up.

“It is considered that open space provision on site falls well short of the minimum requirement and further still open space provided is not considered to represent good quality open space, being fragmented in appearance and lacking quality as advised by the Shropshire Council Green Infrastructure advisor in comments in consideration of the application,” said the council planning officers report.

“This is also further exacerbated with consideration to the site’s location on the edge of the settlement on a greenfield site separated from the rest of the town by the A53 public highway.

“Taking all the material planning matters into consideration, in the overall planning balance, it is considered that owing to the concerns with regards lack of provision of on site open space and its overall poor quality, with lack of tree planting and ‘tree lined streets’ etc and concerns with regards to layout, that this application cannot be supported.”

Adderley Parish Council had lodged an objection to the scheme, fearing the number of houses proposed for the site would impact on “already stretched critical infrastructure and services in the area.”

Shropshire Council’s learning and skills team also noted that local primary schools were nearing capacity, and requested a financial contribution towards extra educational facilities.

“It is forecast that the effect of this and of other developments in the area will require additional primary school place capacity within Market Drayton. It is therefore essential that the developers of this and any new housing in this area contribute towards the consequential cost of any additional places/facilities considered necessary to meet pupil requirements with the area,” they said.

The scheme was set to include 13 affordable homes, which housing association Connexus had expressed an interest in purchasing to offer as a mix of shared ownership and rented homes.