Nearly 100 new homes planned for village near Shrewsbury

Wain Estates (Land) Limited has earmarked land to the east of Merrington Road in Bomere for the development.

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It is an outline application with all matters reserved except for means of access, which will be via open land between two recently developed blocks of housing. Shropshire Council’s Northern Planning Committee will discuss the scheme next Tuesday (April 21) with it being recommended for approval.

The developer says that 15 per cent of the houses would be classed as affordable. There would also be 4.9 hectares of new green infrastructure, including walking and leisure leisure routes, and associated amenities.

Wildflower planting and structural landscaping would also surround the development, as well as a new wetland feature to the north of the site.

Iceni Projects, an agent representing Wain Estates (Land) Limited, say that a consultation was held, which included distributing around 777 leaflets to households and local stakeholders, while a dedicated website was also set up.

In total, 60 feedback responses were received with key concerns being highways safety, drainage, infrastructure capacity, landscape impact, and the scale of the development.

The Iceni Projects spokesperson said the responses have been addressed through the design evolution of the scheme, with a transport assessment, and flood risk and drainage strategies being carried out.

However, both Bomere Heath Parish Council, and Councillor Brendan Mallon, who represents Tern, have objected to the proposal as well as 52 members of the public.

A physical petition against the plan has also been signed by 187 people.

One person who is concerned is Cherie Perie, who has lived in Bomere Heath for over 90 years. She said that if more houses are to be built in the village, then the services and infrastructure needed to support them must also be included.

“Bomere Heath’s water supply comes from a borehole, and this cannot be expected to supply these additional homes when we are in an era of climate change with issues of water shortage,” she said.

“What about the sewerage system? Would the small sewerage works have to be extended? Various areas of the village suffer from electric cuts. Will another 100 homes put even more pressure on the grid causing more failures?

“These homes are beyond the original limit of Bomere Heath where we were told houses wouldn’t be built on agricultural land.

“Can the roads of Bomere Heath and Merrington deal with the number of additional cars that would come from these homes? Most of the roads in the area are narrow both in the village and in the surroundings.

“There are invariably parked cars all down the main road which makes it very dangerous.

“But most importantly, Bomere Heath requires a doctor’s surgery. It could be shared between the two local surgeries of Baschurch and Clive, but we understand Baschurch patient’s list is full and Clive hasn’t been taking on many new patients.”

However, Jane Redmond, a planning officer at Shropshire Council, is recommending that the application should be approved, subject to conditions and a Section 106 agreement.

“Although the site is not within the settlement, it is adjacent to the settlement boundary of a village that is considered to be a suitable and sustainable location for housing development, given that it is identified as a community hub in the adopted Local Plan,” she said.

“Provided that the benefits of providing additional housing are not outweighed by any significant adverse impacts, and that the proposal is well designed, makes effective use of land and provides affordable housing, permission should be granted.”