Plans for 93 homes in village set for approval

A housing development which had attracted nearly 100 objections is due to go before a planning committee next week.

A report drawn up by Shropshire Council recommends planning approval is given for the 93 homes opposite a primary school in the village of Ford, near Shrewsbury.

Access from the busy A458, a lack of local facilities and the effect of the extra homes on the character of the village were included in the concerns raised by objectors.

But the report said the application met all the tests for a sustainable development and because the council had no local plan to control housebuilding, the presumption had to be in favour of approval.

The applicant, Shropshire Homes, proposed access to the development through a new junction on to Butt Lane, including a new pedestrian crossing.

They also said there would be a drop-off spot and short-stay car park to serve Trinity C of E Primary School.

Ford Parish Council raised a long list of concerns in a 170-page letter and asked for the decision to be deferred to allow access arrangements to be looked at again.

They also said the company had not addressed local concerns or revised its proposals.

Shropshire Council has been without a valid local plan since planning inspectors rejected its previous draft two years ago.

As a consequence, its ability to refuse planning permission is limited because the National Planning Policy Framework states that councils without a functioning local plan must give "more weight to the presumption in favour of sustainable development".

The report due to go before council said that, because the application met this criteria, that carried more weight than any harm the housebuilding could cause.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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