New Telford community centre recommended for approval despite concerns

A petition and other public objections to the new Lawley & Overdale Parish Council building at Bryce Way have been lodged with Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning committee.

“The petition was collected over the Christmas period and makes reference to some residents being away,” a report to the planning committee reads.

“Overall the petition gathered signatures of objection from 48 addresses.”

Some 14 objections were made through the planning consultation process questioning the need for the facility and concerns about noise, traffic, and overspill parking.

Also mentioned were increases in the council tax, concern with how public money is being spent, the scale of the development and that a proposed café is "not justified".

The report also points out that two representations were made in support. They supported it saying it is needed to support the growth in the population and that it will provide job opportunities.

It would be a two-storey "roughly rectangular" building with a hall area, meeting and office spaces, a café, a car park and new access.

Lawley & Overdale Parish Council compiled a business case to support its application. It says that a new community facility is needed in the area.

The current Lawley Community Centre at a former Board School in Arleston Lane is "almost fully booked throughout the week".

Planners noted that there is an existing planning condition about using part of the nearby primary school for community use. This remains, said planners, writing that it “would still be expected that the community use agreement condition attached to the primary school be satisfied".

But they added "notwithstanding this, it is understood that there are operational challenges associated with the shared use of the school as a community facility, including hours of operation, safeguarding, and therefore some of the objectives of the new community centre proposed cannot be achieved in the existing school".

Planners added that a number of public objections raise concerns with how the facility is to be funded. But they wrote that this is not considered to be a material planning consideration in the decision-making process.

“Overall, the local planning authority considers the proposal would positively contribute to the character of the area and street scene, tying into the existing development whilst externally providing legible spaces for pedestrians and vehicle users,” planners wrote.

Lawley & Overdale Parish Council in its submission to planners said that it could have avoided increasing council tax if the community centre could have been provided at the school.

The council alleged that the planning authority has “failed to enforce the planning condition, and the parish council now have to look at financing its provision on freehold land gifted to them as a solution to the planning stalemate by Telford & Wrekin Council”.

But it adds: “Failure to provide will encourage Lawley residents to travel further afield to satisfy their community desires, with detrimental effect on greenhouse gases and local revenue.”

Parish council documents reveal that band D council taxes in the parish will rise by about 44p a week to help the project proceed. The money will be needed to pay off a 40-year loan with an annual fixed rate of £263,113 per annum.

It expects to break even in the running of the building by its second operational year and to provide a “healthy surplus income from the third year onwards".

Wednesday’s planning committee is open to the public and will be held from 6pm on Wednesday, February 4 at Southwater One in Telford.