Progress at last? Fifth application for retirement flats on former pub site empty for 15 years
Developers have submitted a fifth application to build a retirement complex on the long-empty site of a former pub that was demolished 15 years ago.
The Dun Cow in Dawley town centre closed in 2008 and was soon demolished, leaving a large vacant site opposite the Lord Hill Car Park.
In 2009, planning permission was granted for the erection of a 72-bedroom care home on the site. In 2013, an application to extend the time limit on the original plan was approved.
Eight years later, another application for a 77-bedroom care home was given the go-ahead. Then in 2023, a further application was approved for the building of 39 retirement apartments.
Yet today, the site next to The Telford Langley School remains vacant and overgrown. Now, developer McCarthy Stone hopes to change that.
The company has put forward plans for the building of 51 retirement apartments on the corner of Duce Drive and New Street.
In the cover letter, submitted on behalf of McCarthy Stone, Planning Potential associate Jamie Pert states the 2023 approval shows the local planning authority is "supportive of the principle of residential apartments on site... the provision of which is also supported by planning policy in response to the ageing population."
The letter continues: "Located in a highly accessible and sustainable location within the urban fabric and neighbouring town centre, the introduction of a nationally recognised and award-winning retirement living provider will secure the long-term productive use of a prominent vacant brownfield site and make a valuable contribution to the local economy."
If successful, the 51 self-contained apartments will be made up of 15 two-bed apartments and 36 one-bed apartments, as well as a communal residents' lounge, mobility scooter store and communal garden.
The proposed development also includes 20 car parking spaces, two of which will be accessible, each with access to an electric vehicle charging point.
The developers intend to build the majority of the site in red brick, to match the surrounding buildings, and use "contrasting off-white brickwork" taken from buildings on New Street, namely Dawley Town Hall.
The full application is available to view online on the Telford & Wrekin planning portal using the reference number TWC/2024/0384.
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