Plans for a further 362 homes in Lawley set to be approved

The Lawley Village Developer Group has applied to go ahead with phases five and nine of its 11-stage “Sustainable Urban Extension” (SUE) project.

So far 2,000 out of 3,300 planned homes have been built or are being built, after outline planning permission for the project as a whole was granted in 2005.

In a report due to go before the Telford and Wrekin Planning Committee, council officers said that the latest group of homes would be split between the phase five site, which measures six acres, north of the Wrekin Way footpath, and the 27-acre phase nine site south of it.

The report says: “The pair of phases have been designed to have distinct characters, phase five being solely comprised of detached dwellings of a lower density and phase nine having a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced dwellings.

“It is proposed to remove the majority of the existing trees that line the south-eastern, eastern and north-eastern edges of the site, the reason provided by the applicant being the necessity to level parts of the site to create a developable platform.

“The eastern parts of the site are steepest and there is a requirement to install a retaining wall structure where trees currently exist to stabilise the site.

“The retaining wall would be approximately 450 metres in length and would vary in height from two up to eight metres.”

In December, the last time the plans were in front of the Telford and Wrekin planning committee, the panel voted to defer their decision.

The design, construction and maintenance of the retaining wall, and the impact it would have on drainage and rainwater run-off were among the reasons for this.

Other reasons included the impact on public rights of way and routes to school and the affordability of the homes.

The report authors say the Lawley Village Developer Group has amended its plans and they will be considered again by the committee on February 20.

Telford and Wrekin Council planning officers recommend they vote in favour.

By Alex Moore, local democracy reporter