New housing plans lodged for village site

New plans have been drawn up for a housing development in a Shropshire village after previous proposals for the site failed to win over councillors.

The latest application for the land around Whiteacres bungalow off Albrighton’s High Street is for a total of 24 homes, which will be a mix of apartments, bungalows and detached houses.

An earlier application for 18 properties was refused by Shropshire Council’s southern planning committee earlier this year because members said the proposals – for 11 large houses, three bungalows and four apartments – would not address a local need for homes for elderly people.

The land is allocated for up to 20 homes in the council’s current development plan, which says any development should deliver “housing that is capable of occupation by people of retirement age”.

While the developer, Shropshire Homes, argued all of the houses did meet this requirement, the revised application is for 12 apartments, six bungalows and six four-bed houses. Three of the bungalows will be ‘affordable homes’.

A planning statement submitted in support of the application says: “It should be noted that the mix in this application has been amended to provide more apartments in order to overcome the reason for refusal stated in the previous application relating to properties being suitable for retired people.”

Under the plans, Whiteacres would remain but another bungalow on the land would be demolished along with other buildings.

The access to High Street would be cut off for vehicles and become pedestrian-only, with vehicles accessing the site from Garridge Close.

An area of public open space would also be provided, and the developer says the scheme has been kept to a “low density” to protect existing trees and a bridleway.

The statement adds: “The proposed scheme provides a high quality development which will respect and enhance the conservation area.

“The scheme provides for a pedestrian link through the site from Garridge Close to the High Street which will provide an attractive route. The design of the road is such that it will lead to very low traffic .

“All the properties are designed to Lifetime Homes standards so are ‘future – proofed’ against the needs of the elderly and as such are eminently suitable for retired purchasers.”

Albrighton Parish Council has objected to the application, saying the amended plans still do not go far enough to meet the need for homes for older residents.

The council said: “Although it is accepted this proposal allows provision for more one and two-bed dwellings than the previous proposal, the proposed site layout plan demonstrates that the vast majority of the land area of the site is to be occupied by larger homes.

“Therefore, the ratio of smaller dwellings compared to the number of larger homes, when viewed through land area, is disproportionate and unacceptable.”

The parish council raised further concerns about parking on Garridge Close and overdevelopment of the site.

The application will be decided by Shropshire Council.