Four-year planning battle ends in approval for 450-home scheme

A lengthy planning tangle over a large housing development in Shrewsbury has finally concluded with a decision to go-ahead, after Shropshire Council said concerns over traffic would be ‘indefensible’ on appeal.

Under proposals put forward by Barwood Development Securities in 2022, up to 450 homes will now be built off Ellesmere Road in a scheme which had proved controversial due to its location near one of the major traffic choke-points heading into the town.

The site had previously been identified for residential development as part of the council’s now-scrapped local plan.

More than 100 objections were received from residents during the consultation period for the scheme, which was thrown into jeopardy by the scrapping of the town’s proposed North West Relief Road last year.

The scheme had been recommended for approval at a meeting in February, but a decision was deferred until April while councillors sought assurances on the development’s impact on the town’s road network – as well as clarification on footpath and cycle connections to schools and other routes running to the south of the site.

Objectors said the knock-on effect of shelving the town’s flagship road project would see more traffic from the 54-acre development heading through Shrewsbury’s crowded town centre road network – already a pinch point for motorists at the town-centre end of Ellesmere Road.

Cllr Carl Rowley, member for St Martins, told the April planning committee meeting on Tuesday, 21 April that he “would not feel comfortable” putting his name to a scheme which could increase congestion in Shrewsbury’s town centre and urged the committee to reject the application – even if it was subsequently overturned by the Planning Inspectorate.

However, the committee was swayed by updated modelling provided by the applicant, which showed the scheme would have “minimal impact” on forecast levels of queuing and delay on the route – leading to the council’s highways team to also confirm they had no formal objection to the proposals.

“The number of additional vehicle trips generated by the development during the morning and evening peak periods equates to 232 two-way vehicle trips in the morning peak hour and 225 two-way vehicle trips in the evening peak hour across the wider highway network,” stated a technical note supplied by transport consultants PJA on behalf of the developer.

“This exercise concluded that the development has a minimal impact on forecast levels of queuing and delay on the local highway network, both with and without the NWRR in place.”

A legal note provided to the council added that refusing the application on highways or accessibility grounds, with no objection in place from the highways authority, would be unlikely to be defensible at appeal.

Councillors voted to approve the proposals by seven to two on Tuesday, April 21.

Documents and plans relating to the application can be found via Shropshire Council’s planning portal using reference: 22/01432/OUT.