Planning application for 42 dwellings from Shingler Homes off Alma Close, West Felton. http://pa.shropshire.gov.uk/onli…/applicationDetails.do…
Obvious points of contention:
*Outside SamDev (Open Countryside) and the development boundary of the withdrawn local plan (Open Countryside).
*Flooding issues / overloaded drains on Fox Lane from existing runoff
*The setting of this land within the conservation area and how the village has historically grown.
*Access to services/sustainability, where are the jobs and other infrastructure to support this growth
*Highways access to A5 at Queens Head and Weirbrook junctions
This is now the 3rd speculative housing development since the Conservatives’ local plan was found unsound by planning inspectors at the end of 2024, leaving Shropshire with no five-year land supply and open season for developers. None of these 3 sites are in the now-withdrawn plan. Many other sites in the area were graded as long-term potential sites in 2014.
I have previously warned that these, and many others, are in the frame while Shropshire Council has no 5-year land supply, and this is the primary reason why I have pushed so hard for the parish to have a Neighbourhood Plan for 5 years. A Neighbourhood Plan would put West Felton in control of the future shape of development across the parish.
If you have any comments, please feel free to contact me
West Felton PC will have it on their February Agenda. As the local Shropshire Councillor, I will be calling it in for determination by the planning committee next week, as I have a tighter deadline than the parish council. Ideally, I would have waited until the parish council meeting before commenting. Public comments will be possible until the close of consultation on the 16th of February
I will be drafting my own comments on the application in the next few days and will post them here when I submit them.
I have now submitted my objection and call-in request to officers.
I should add that this comment is in my local member capacity. Although I hold the cabinet portfolio role for Planning, that role is entirely strategic and has no role in determining individual applications.
I have called it in for consideration on the grounds of the harmful impact on the setting and character of Felton Grange, Historic Parkland, and the Conservation Area, and indeed the whole village. I have grave concerns about the cumulative impact of 3 live sites and potential further unplanned sites on the A5 junction at Queens Head, flooding on Fox Lane, drainage capacity, poor access to services and sustainability. These are all laid out in the attached PDF below:
