Shifnal homes plan withdrawn day before planning committee decision
A proposal to build homes on the site of a town's abandoned swimming pool project has been withdrawn - the day before it was due for a decision.
DBA Estates' plans for 34 homes on land to the North of Watts Drive in Shifnal were due to be considered by Shropshire Council's southern planning committee tomorrow - Tuesday, November 24.
The authority's planning officers had recommended that councillors on the committee vote to refuse the proposal.
But it has now emerged that the developers behind the scheme have withdrawn the plan before it is considered by committee.
A letter from Tabitha Lythe, a Planning and Development Services Manager at Shropshire Council, to the applicants said: "We acknowledge your communication advising that the above application is being withdrawn. No determination will now be made in respect of this application."
The proposal had concerned a strip of land between the M54 and existing housing built off Haughton Road.
The plans show the access for the new development would have been through the existing estate.
The site was originally earmarked for a swimming pool in conditions for the previously approved development, along with the potential for allotments, but the project has never gone ahead.
In a report outlining its views on the proposal, Shropshire Council's planning department raised a number of concerns.
They include their own issues with the design of the site, that the land was originally planned for the benefit of the local community as part of the proposal for the existing housing estate back in 2012, and National Highways' worries about the noise from the M54.
The council also addressed the current issues it faces with its lack of an up-to-date local plan, or a five-year land supply, saying that it acknowledges the situation but believes the proposal still fails to meet national planning criteria.
A paper prepared for the meeting stated: "Whilst it is recognised that the site is within Shifnal’s development boundary, where the principle of residential development would not be inappropriate, the proposal exhibits fundamental flaws in respect of its design, layout, access and parking arrangements, pedestrian permeability, connectivity and noise amenity.
"As such the proposed development would not result in a sufficiently high-quality design as to be considered acceptable."
The report also specifically referenced the previous application for the existing estate - and the "expectation" that the land would be for the benefit of the community.
It said "it is clear that the intent" was that part of the side would be used to benefit the local community.
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