Raby’s 96-home Cressage plan is thrown out
The first of two controversial housing development applications earmarked for a quiet Shropshire village has been refused by planners this week.
An application from Raby Estates would have seen up to 96 homes built between Shore Lane and Shrewsbury Road in the west of the village, along with a public park on a nearby plot, a scheme they said was “integrated with Cressage, connected to its centre and supporting its sustainable community”.
Their opinions on the site were not shared by Shropshire Council’s planners, who turned down the proposals – and may now have to decide whether to defend their decision on appeal.
Cressage, around ten miles east of Shrewsbury, became an unlikely battleground for two developers last year, when separate residential proposals from Muller Properties and Raby Estates were lodged with Shropshire Council.
Raby lodged a spicy objection to Muller Properties’ plan to build up to 60 homes in the village – as it launched proposals of its own for a larger development on a neighbouring site.
The two sites are considered to be in open countryside, with both developers hoping the authority’s missing-in-action local plan and lack of five-year housing supply would weigh in favour of their schemes.
And while one scheme is still on the table, Raby Estates says it’s now considering it’s next steps over an appeal.
In supporting documents submitted with the proposals, Raby, which owns some 6,500 acres of land between Shrewsbury and Telford, said its site was a “unique opportunity to deliver a development of exceptional quality”, which would meet local housing need, and be delivered by a landowner and developer which has a “long-term interest and stewardship role” in the local area.
However, a report from the authority’s planning officer said that the scale of the planned development would “compromise the prevailing open character and setting” of Cressage, home to around 730 people at the most recent count, adding that its location in open countryside was not sustainable.
Local councillor Susan Coleman weighed in during the consultation, describing the proposals as “significant overdevelopment” which would cause “permanent harm to the rural character of Cressage”, while rival developer Muller Property Group also returned the favour, objecting to the Raby application on ecology, landscape and heritage grounds.
“Even in the context of the presumption in favour of sustainable development and associated tilted balance, it is not considered that the benefits of the scheme warrant a departure from the development plan,” said the planning officer’s report.
A spokesperson for Raby Estates said they would wait until they had reviewed the decision before deciding on their next steps.
“We are disappointed with the decision, but we are now assessing the officer’s report and will be considering our options once that assessment is complete,” they said.
Plans and documentation relating to the application can be found on Shropshire Council’s planning portal using the reference: 25/04124/OUT
