Homes plan will create Shrewsbury jobs growth
Hundreds of jobs will be created in Shrewsbury if plans build almost 300 new homes on the outskirts of town get the go-ahead – with the scheme taking up to eight years to complete, developers said today.
More than 400 people would be employed on the project to create 292 new homes for Taylor Wimpey in Sutton Grange, off Oteley Road, a spokesman for the housebuilder said.
If planning permission was granted for the project, work would begin by the end of this year, with the first homes due to go on sale in 2014.
But the whole scheme is expected to take up to eight years to complete.
A spokesman for Taylor Wimpey said: "All new Taylor Wimpey developments are estimated to create 1.5 'direct' full-time jobs per property built – this would equate to well in excess of 400 jobs.
"That doesn't include the number of jobs in the supply chain, which amounts to about three per home.
"Should the application be approved, it's anticipated that work will probably begin at the end of this year, with the first homes expected to go on sale early in 2014.
"A development of this scale is likely to take six to eight years to complete."
Daniel McGowan, land and planning director for Taylor Wimpey, said: "We are pleased to have submitted a detailed planning application for our proposed Sutton Grange development, which has been drawn up following a period of extensive public consultation with the local community.
"Our proposals are also in line with the aspirations of Shropshire Council's adopted Shrewsbury South Sustainable Urban Extension Masterplan, which outlines an exciting vision for the sustainable growth of the south of the town to provide much-needed new homes and employment opportunities for Shrewsbury. We now await the council's decision on our application in the coming weeks, and we look forward to beginning work as soon as possible should our plans be approved."
The housing scheme will take up nearly 40 acres of agricultural land between the Meole Brace golf course and Sutton Farm.
The proposals are the first to be put in by a housebuilder after Shropshire Council backed the Shrewsbury South Sustainable Urban Extension blueprint last October.
Under the masterplan, 900 new homes will be built over a 15-year period, Shrewsbury Business Park expanded and a 22 hectare employment site on land near the Greenhous Meadow created.
