Talks continue over 1,100-home estate’s ‘too small’ GP surgery as next 196 plots approved
Detailed plans for the development of 196 homes in Telford have been approved by planners even as talks continue over a GP surgery which will be ‘too small’ for the area.
Planners at Telford & Wrekin Council are moving through the finer points of various stages of the massive 1,100-home development at Priorslee which was approved in outline more than 10 years ago.
A snag was hit earlier this year when NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, local councillors and doctors already working in the area pointed out that a surgery would be too small for the area between Castle Farm Way and the A5.
Council planners, in a decision announced this week, said that the size of the surgery was legally agreed in 2016. But they hope to be able to resolve it with the developers “outside of this planning application”.
“The NHS Integrated Care Board objected to the application as there is not sufficient GP provision to cover the additional population resulting from the development,” planners wrote in their decision note.
“The Section 106 [legal agreement] is attached to the outline consent which dates back to 2016; no monetary contribution was requested at this time but in lieu a GP practice was require to be provided on site.
“Discussions are ongoing to increase the size of this surgery outside of this planning application but it is unreasonable to request further financial contributions at this point in time and this would not form a sound reason for refusal given the basis of the outline.”
The reserved matters application is for the building of 196 dwellings including details for access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale on Phase 3 of the Priorslee Sustainable Urban Extension.
The wider site will also have a commercial/employment centre, will retain an existing farm shop, garden centre and play barn, and also have a primary school and local centre. A retirement village, parks, and a community allotment are also in the plan.
It will provide a mixture of one- to four-bed homes, affordable bungalows and flats dispersed across the site.
Planners say that 99 per cent of them will meet national design standards which is “largely compliant” with housing policies within the local plan.
Officials had “concerns with the size of the private amenity spaces provided during the determination process and requested that this be re-visited”.
“Various amended plans were submitted, but the latest provides over 90 per cent of plots that meet the council’s suggested size, with the remaining 10 per cent only falling marginally shorter than requirements,” said planners.
“This is considered acceptable in the context of the wider outline permission and the availability of good quality, useable public amenity space to the east especially.
“However, in order to protect the private amenity space, the local planning authority has removed permitted development rights for extensions and roof alterations on the plots with the smaller garden sizes.”
Earlier this year developer Miller Homes said it remained “very willing” to increase the size of the GP surgery.
But it added that “we must also ensure this is considered alongside other competing requirements of the wider Local Centre and Care scheme proposals”.
