Controversial plans for 250-home development in Lawley look set to go ahead - despite backlash from residents

The outline planning application for 250 new homes on a former coal mine in Lawley was submitted by Telford & Wrekin Council and Homes England in January.

If the development off Arleston Lane goes ahead, it would be made up of a mix of two-, three- and four-bed properties - with 63 of them reserved for affordable housing.

Despite the 15-hectare greenfield site having been allocated for residential development within the Telford and Wrekin Local Plan, residents have long been up in arms about the development. 

A consultation last summer saw more than 80 per cent of residents object to the plans for a variety of reasons, including the loss of green space, the impact on traffic and the increased pressure on local infrastructure. 

And public opinion appears to have been unchanged in the latest consultation for the outline planning application, with the plans coming under fire once again.

Just four letters of support were received against 201 letters of objections and concerns raised by a number of local councillors and the local parish council.

One of those councillors, Mark Boylan, along with Lawley and Overdale Parish Council, has asked the matter to be determined at the next meeting of Telford & Wrekin Council's Planning Committee. 

The meeting, set to take place next Wednesday (July 9), will hear that the plans are recommended for approval by the council's planning officers.

A report, which will be presented to councillors, states the plans are deemed to be compliant with national planning policy and the Telford and Wrekin Local Plan. 

The planning officers have also recommended planning obligations for the developers, including thousands of pounds worth of financial contributions to local schools, green spaces and highway improvements. 

The full application can be viewed online on Telford & Wrekin's planning portal using reference number TWC/2025/0022.