Plan for 1,500-home ‘Garden Village’ set for approval
Controversial proposals from Bloor Homes and Taylor Wimpey to build more than a thousand homes in countryside near Wolverhampton look set to go ahead.
Plans for a potential Tasley Garden Village, set to be built around 10 miles west of the city near the Shropshire town of Bridgnorth, were first mooted more than five years ago.
The 270-acre site was picked out as a potential strategic growth location by Shropshire Council, who included it in their now-scrapped local plan – with plans for 1,100 homes alongside a new primary school, shops and around 37-acres of employment land included in proposals.
However, the scheme was met with local opposition from Bridgnorth’s town council, who declared the idea “unsound” – saying more work was needed to identify the impact of the scheme on roads, services and facilities in the area.
Meanwhile Tasley Parish Council, where the majority of the site sits, said the development was “too big and sited in the wrong location” – with both councils concerned about the scheme’s proximity to another approved development, a 550-home development known as Tasley Gateway.
Submitting outline proposals for a 1,500-home scheme last year, Bloor said the development provided a “unique opportunity” to create a neighbourhood based on Garden Village principles, a set of planning standards put forward by the Town and County Planning Association focused on creating “self-contained, sustainable, and high-quality communities”.
The proposal includes a primary school, as well as a retirement housing community – along with sports facilities and public parkland.
The application will now be decided by Shropshire Council’s southern planning committee next week on the back of a recommendation to approve from the authority’s battle-weary planning officers, who say the council’s lack of a five-year housing supply means the scheme must go ahead.
A report set to go before councillors next week says that while the residential and commercial areas of this proposal do not comply with development policy, there are “sufficiently positive aspects” to conclude the development was appropriate.
Around £7m of developer contributions are included in the report, as well as a requirement for 20% of the scheme to be allocated as affordable housing – up to 300 homes.
“The balancing exercise for this site is consequently weighed heavily in favour of approval, and there are no other material considerations which, when weighed in the planning balance, outweigh the presumption in favour of sustainable development,” they wrote.
The application will be decided by Shropshire Council on Tuesday, 24 February.
Plans and documents relating to the application can be found on Shropshire Council’s planning portal using reference: 25/01722/OUT
