Shropshire Star

New homes to replace Telford caravan business despite objections

Plans for 26 new homes to replace a caravan dealership park in Hadley have been approved, despite concerns the site will be “cramped and overdeveloped”.

Published

Councillors backed Living Space Housing and Walsall Housing Group’s joint bid for 14 houses and 12 flats on the Stadium Way site, in Hadley, now occupied by the Caravan and Camping Centre. The applicants’ agent told the Telford and Wrekin planning committee the “high-quality, small-scale” development would represent a “significant improvement”.

But Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council raised concerns the planned homes were too densely packed onto the half-hectare site, among other objections. The developers’ scheme includes a mixture of two- and three-bedroom houses and one- and two-bedroom apartments, all of which will be designated as affordable housing.

The parish council's clerk Jonathan Brumwell told the committee the project was “over-development”, there was not enough parking and the access junction to the site would be dangerous.

'Cramped'

A planning report before the committee noted concerns that the proposal was considered “cramped and overdeveloped”, but added: “Officers consider that, at 45 dwellings per hectare, the proposal would compare favourably with the development to the north known as The Nettlefolds which has a density of over 50, and would therefore not be out of keeping with the wider area.”

Mr Brumwell said that comparison “would not be a selling point” as far as the parish council were concerned.

Mark Gay, acting as agent for the applicants, said: “This application aims to provide a high-quality, small-scale development representing a significant improvement on the site’s current use and condition.”

The planning report also noted by providing 41 car parking spaces for 26 homes the blueprints were “in accordance with the guidance of the Telford and Wrekin local plan”, and Principal Engineer Mark Rowley told the committee there were low-cost options available to improve the access junction, such as yellow hatching, should it become an issue.

The Telford and Wrekin Council Planning Committee voted to follow the officers’ recommendation and approve the plan.

By Alex Moore, Local Democracy Reporter