New 220-home estate approved in latest Shropshire development given the green light

Planners have approved a new estate with more than 220 homes.

It is the latest of many new developments given the green light by Shropshire Council in recent months.

The Persimmon Homes proposal is for a site off Thrower Road in Shrewsbury.

The land is south of Oteley Road, and bordered by the A5 to the south. To the west is Shrewsbury Football Club’s stadium, and to the east is an existing housing estate and the Percy Throwers Garden Centre.

The development, which had already been approved at the outline planning stage, includes a total of 226 homes.

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It will be made up of a mix of one- to four-bedroom homes, with 91 properties set aside for affordable rent, shared ownership, and discounted sale.

Around five acres of public open space will also be created, alongside a new play area and landscaping designed to support biodiversity across the site.

The access for the development will be off the existing Thrower Road estate.

The plan did attract objections from Shrewsbury Town Council, although Shropshire Council, which is responsible for deciding whether to approve the scheme, said it was happy to give the green light with the issues having been solved by revisions to the plans.

Lee Perry, technical director for Persimmon Homes West Midlands, welcomed the go-ahead for the scheme, saying: “We’re pleased to have secured approval for these new homes in Shrewsbury.

“We’ve worked closely with officers throughout the process and look forward to delivering a well-designed development with green space and homes people can be proud of.”

Persimmon added that as part of the planning permission it will contribute £1.7 million towards local education through Section 106 funding and around £540,000 through the Community Infrastructure Levy towards local infrastructure and services.

As well as criticism from Shrewsbury Town Council, Shrewsbury Civic Society said the design for the proposed homes was “unimaginative”.

It said: “It is therefore a disappointment that the quality of design for the houses themselves falls well short compared to the illustrative elevations used in the original D&A [design and access] statement.

“We recommend that this element is also subjected to design review in the hope that the quality of the development is not undermined by the unimaginative approach to the actual houses.”

Shropshire Council’s planning department report approving the scheme said the proposal meets with the authority’s housing policies.

It said: “The principle of development including the access to the site has been established by the outline permission.

“It is considered that the layout of the site and the scale, design and appearance of the dwellings would have no adverse impact on the character and appearance of the locality nor adversely impact on residential amenity.

“A policy-compliant amount of open space is being provided and it is considered that subject to compliance with the recommended conditions the proposed landscaping and ecological enhancements are acceptable and will provide net gain for biodiversity.”