Ten more homes planned for land behind former rural Shropshire pub once devastated by fire

Around 30 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Hare and Hounds pub in Cruckton, near Shrewsbury, in the early hours of April 8, 2011.

At the time, fire chiefs investigating the blaze said they believed the blaze started in an adjoining building, where there were signs of forced entry. 

Police later confirmed the fire was being treated as of "doubtful origin".  

In 2014, plans were submitted to restore the pub along with the construction of six homes - but the plans were eventually withdrawn after the developers said it would not be viable to bring the village pub back into use. The former pub was eventually converted into four homes in 2023. 

The following year, and despite the council's planning officers initally recommending the refusal of the plans, Shropshire Council's planning committee gave the greenlight to plans to build 10 homes at the site. 

Now, plans to build an additional ten homes to the north of the former pub have been submitted to Shropshire Council. 

The latest scheme would see ten bungalows be built, half of which would be available for 'affordable home ownership', after the local parish council reportedly advised there was a shortage of bungalows in the area. 

Documents state that the development would be made up for five detached dormer bungalows, three detached bungalows and a pair of semi-detached bungalows.

While the site is outside of the boundary settlement as identified in Shropshire's Council last - but now scrapped - Local Plan, the developer argues the benefits of providing "good quality affordable housing" outweighs the harm.

The application, submitted by Andy Rutter of HiRu Renovations Limited, stated that the "mix of affordable and open market houses will provide valuable additional housing stock to the area" and that the homes had been designed to "complement and respect" the architecture of the area.