Concerns over three schemes for Nesscliffe homes

The proposals include plans to build two houses behind the Old Three Pigeons pub, a residential development on land near the Nesscliffe Hotel and a bid to build homes on land near The Gables, Nesscliffe.

All three applications are due to be discussed by councillors on Thursday at a meeting in the Shirehall in Shrewsbury.

But all three have been recommended for refusal by council officers because of policy reasons.

Planning officers say the bids cannot be supported as the village has not been formally designated as a 'hub or cluster' under Shropshire Council's SAMDev Plan, which will oversee how the county is developed up until 2026.

Under SAMDev rules a hub is a rural settlement – usually a large village – while a cluster is defined as a group of two or more rural settlements.

Whether a settlement is defined as a hub or a cluster will influence what sort of development would be acceptable in the future.

The reports say: "At this time the planning authority has three current applications for housing developments in Nesscliffe.

"Due to the unresolved nature of the policies for the future development of Nesscliffe beyond the parish council's stated wish to be a 'community hub', the officers cannot currently support any of the submitted scheme.

"At this present time the village of Nesscliffe has not yet been formally designated as a hub or a cluster and is therefore open countryside."

The central planning committee will discuss the bids on Thursday from 2pm.