Refusal of 'unacceptably small' flats above shop in Shrewsbury's Wyle Cop appealed after local plan pulled
In the wake of Shropshire Council withdrawing the county's local plan, an appeal to overturn its ruling over new flats in Shrewsbury has been lodged.
An appeal over Shropshire Council's decision to refuse planning permission for the former Salopian Sports store in Shrewsbury has been lodged with the government planning inspectorate.
The plans for 17 Wyle Cop, which has been vacant since the sports shop ceased trading in 2017, would have seen five new apartments built on the upper floors of the building, with the ground floor and basement reserved for retail.
Listed building consent was granted by the council, subject to more than a dozen conditions, but planning officers ultimately threw out the proposal.
Shropshire Council planning officers decided that the plans would be an "over development" of the site and would provide an "unsatisfactory residential environment for future occupants” with three apartments that would be “significantly below” government minimum space standards.
Now, the applicant, JJ Signature Holdings Ltd, is appealing that decision based largely on the council's recent withdrawal of its local plan.
In March this year, Shropshire Council confirmed it would be withdrawing its plan - a vision for the future development of an area in the next 15 to 20 years - after criticism and concerns raised by planning inspectors.
The plan proposed a combined 31,300 homes to be built over that timeframe, along with 320 hectares of employment land. Without an adopted local plan, the council loses the ability to control development in the area.
As the draft local plan was cited in the original decision against the former Salopian Sports, the applicant is arguing that the local plan should be given "no weight" in the consideration of the appeal.
The case statement, submitted on behalf of JJ Signature Holdings Ltd, reads: "As a consequence of this withdrawal and changes to the standard method of assessing housing need/supply required by the Government, the council now finds that it cannot demonstrate a five years' supply of housing land.
"In this situation, there should be a presumption in favour of granting consent for sustainable development."
The applicant goes on to argue that the development would make a "good use of an already developed site" and help towards achieving housing targets.
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