Objectors bid to keep Bridgnorth car lift grounded
An innovative 30ft car elevator could be built as part of plans for a five-bedroomed house in Bridgnorth.
But residents are unhappy about the proposal in narrow streets in the Bridgnorth Conservation Area.
The elevator is designed to take cars to and from the proposed house on the Granary Steps – above the sandstone rock face in Friar's Street, Bridgnorth.
Chris Wright lives with her husband Doug in Southwell Riverside, near the site.
She said: "Apart from the design, if built it will immediately take away four parking spaces in Friar's Street. Parking is a major issue and four households face losing a car space just so one household can have access with eight parking spaces on their own property.
"The house will be a mock-Tudor design so will stick out like a sore thumb. It will be visible from heritage vantage points on the other side of the River Severn and from the Hermitage too.
"The impact on the town will be enormous. We do need houses built in the town, but affordable ones, not mansions."
Jayne Hart, who has objected against the plan on the Shropshire Council website, said: "This development is in a conservation area, and we don't feel that a 30ft car lift tower is sympathetic to the historic surroundings, nor considerate to the residents living close by."
The house and the car elevator plans have been designed by John Needham Associates of Ludlow.
Mr Needham said the elevator was the only viable solution.
He said the site owners did not want to comment.
