Planning system ’tilts’ in favour of building homes in Ellesmere says developer
Developers who want to build 25 homes on countryside just outside a north Shropshire town say that the balance of power in the planning system is “tilted” towards them.
Agents for Shrewsbury-based Fletcher Homes say that building new homes even in the countryside outside Ellesmere’s boundary is now more of a priority than applying “out of date” policies.
The home builder wants to develop land to the south of Almond Drive as a “logical” extension to the town.
It said Ellesmere is falling well short of the 800 new homes it had been earmarked for.
Planning agent Berrys, also of Shrewsbury, has told the planning department that the 3.1 hectares of land are currently under rough pasture with some trees and mostly in a zone ‘least likely’ to flood.
The agents said that Shropshire as a whole does not have a five-year housing supply.
This, they added, “triggers” national policies that apply the “tilted balance” in favour of house building.
The agents wrote: “Shropshire Council is unable to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and, as a consequence, adopted Local Plan policies are out of date and the presumption in favour of sustainable development, contained within the National Planning Policy Framework, is engaged.”
Council planners have also been told that new housing that is considered sustainable will be supported unless there are any adverse impacts that outweigh the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
The agent added that the proposed “logical infill and a rounding off of the existing housing estate” would not be seen as “inappropriate encroachment into the countryside”.
The submission to the council added that Ellesmere had been earmarked for 800 homes but has only 553.
The agents also pointed to a planning appeal decision for 70 homes in open countryside at Tilstock.
“The inspector fully acknowledged that the site conflicted with the adopted Local Plan, but he made it very clear that the national need to provide housing overrides this.”
The Ellesmere site it wants to develop is also not currently allocated for housing but is next to the development boundary of Ellesmere.
The developers are proposing to have two “affordable” homes on the open market site to help meet a demand from more than 5,000 households on the council’s housing register, and make a financial contribution.
A period of public consultation has opened. The application can be viewed on the Shropshire Council planning portal (reference 26/00061/FUL).
