Jobs boost hope if 300 Shrewsbury homes win go-ahead
Controversial plans to build almost 300 homes on the outskirts of Shrewsbury look set to be given the green light later this week, potentially creating hundreds of jobs.
Taylor Wimpey had applied to build 292 homes in Sutton Grange, off Oteley Road, but has revised the proposals to remove one property after English Heritage raised concerns over the potential impact on the Grade II-listed Church of St John Sutton, now the Orthodox Church.
A report going to Shropshire Council's planning committee has recommended the scheme is given the go-ahead when councillors meet on Thursday.
It said the scheme could help to create 1,300 jobs during the construction process, as well as contributing £2.3 million to council coffers through the Government's New Homes Bonus scheme.
Case officer Richard Fortune said permission should be granted subject to a number of conditions, including financial contributions towards infrastructure, transport and community facilities in the local area.
Objections
Concerns about the plans had been raised by groups including the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Shrewsbury Friends of the Earth and Shropshire Wildlife Trust, with more than 30 objections coming from local residents.
But the report said the land that would be used for development has already been earmarked to make up part of the Shrewsbury South Sustainable Urban Extension, which is to eventually include 900 homes.
"The allocation of this land for development has established that there are no unresolvable technical constraints to the development of the land," it said.
"Research has shown that a proposal for 291 homes has the potential to support 1,300 jobs over the construction period in terms of direct jobs and those in the supply chain.
"The Sutton Grange proposals would also contribute around £2,342,000 New Homes Bonus over a six year period, which is a payment designed to ensure that the economic benefits of housing growth are returned to the councils and communities where that growth takes place."
When the plans were first announced earlier this year, developers said that if planning permission was granted the first homes would be due to go on sale in 2014.
