'Local schools are full' says council but 175 homes plan on countryside fields set for approval

Shropshire Council’s Northern Planning Committee will meet to discuss plans for the houses on land between Aston Road and Church Lane in Wem.

A report prepared for the meeting, on Tuesday, July 21, recommends the proposal is approved.

The scheme from Bellway Homes is for a site made up of relatively flat agricultural fields surrounded by hedgerows, covering a total of 12.96 hectares, with access from Aston Road.

The report, prepared by planning officer Andrew Huntley, says that the site earmarked for the homes is outside of the town’s settlement boundary, and in what is considered ‘countryside’.

But in an echo of many recent housing proposals the report says that the council’s continuing lack of a five year land supply means the application should be approved.

The proposal has attracted significant opposition over concerns from local residents and Wem Town Council about the impact on local roads, schools, and medical services.

The town council’s submission states: “Wem Town Council has previously objected to several developments to the east of the level crossing due to existing traffic congestion, standing traffic and the resulting impact on traffic flow and road safety.

“These concerns are particularly acute at the level crossing itself and on surrounding roads, especially Aston Road, Aston Street and Soulton Road.

“The council remains seriously concerned about the ability of existing infrastructure to cope with further development in this part of the town.

“We urge Shropshire Council to facilitate round-table discussions with all current applicants seeking permission for housing developments east of the town.

“Such discussions are needed to find solutions to shared concerns, particularly the impact of increased traffic on the level crossing.

“The council believes there is a clear need for developers to work together to create a link road between Aston Road and Shawbury Road. This would help relieve pressure on the town's road network and, in time, provide a more sustainable basis for potential development in this area.”

Mr Huntley’s report, which will be considered by the committee before it makes a decision, says that despite local schools being oversubscribed the amount of money requested from developers - £1.4m, means it is not a reason to reject the proposal.

The report also says that council’s position over its five-year land supply means that the highways concerns are not severe enough to turn the plans down.

Referencing local schools the report states: “Local schools are full (or will be full) once occupation of this and other prosed developments are complete. The primary catchment school (St Peters) has a Net capacity of 420 and currently has 431 pupils on roll.

“The secondary school Thomas Adams has a capacity of 1,040 with 1,225 on roll.

“It is therefore essential that the developers of this and any new housing in this area contribute towards the consequential cost of any additional places or facilities considered necessary to meet pupil requirements.”

On concerns over the roads the report states: “Whilst it is considered that the development presents challenges from a highway perspective, it is not considered that a highway refusal could be sustained.”

It adds: “As the council’s highway officer states, the test for refusal on highways grounds is high with a position in the National Planning Policy Framework that development should only be refused on highways grounds if there would be an unacceptable impact on highway safety, or the residual cumulative impacts on the road network, following mitigation, would be severe, taking into account all reasonable future scenarios.

“There is no substantive evidence that the proposal would result in unacceptable highway safety impacts or have severe cumulative transport implications on the road network.”

The report concludes that the plan will not put an “unacceptable strain” on infrastructure and that new houses will actually help keep local facilities in the area.

It states: “Although public comments have expressed concern that the scale of development is considered too large for the size of the settlement and existing infrastructure, for the reasons outlined in the report it is considered that subject to the required CIL contribution and the highway improvements to be secured the proposal would not place an unacceptable strain on local infrastructure and will contribute to improvements to the benefit of existing and future residents.

“The provision of new housing will help to support and retain existing local facilities and services and enhance the vitality of this rural community. “

It concludes: “Any adverse impacts of the development do not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal, and therefore the weight in the overall planning balance is in favour of granting planning permission subject to the recommended conditions.”

A decision on the plan will be taken at next week’s meeting.