An outline planning application has been submitted for the erection of up to 16 dwellings on land between Holyhead Road and Twyford Lane, West Felton (Ref: 25/02295/OUT). This application is currently pending consideration. The public consultation closes on Thursday, 14 August 2025. Comments for or against can be made here: https://pa.shropshire.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SY62A9TDIRP00
West Felton Parish Council held an extraordinary council meeting last week to consider the matter. Their comments have been collated and are being submitted by the Clerk. Sadly, work overran considerably, and I missed the meeting. Quite a busy period at the moment for me, with many full days & late nights to get things off my desk. I sent in my formal objection at 3:45am on the 25th of July.
I have formally called in the application for consideration by the Northern Planning Committee and submitted my objections to the case officer. I will continue to work with residents and colleagues to ensure that the heritage, ecology, and character of West Felton are protected.
The site is historically significant, containing a Grade II listed Cider Press. It is part of the village’s historic orchard landscape. The proposed development would place the cider press within a residential curtilage, potentially converting it into a storage shed. This risks undermining its heritage value, harming its setting and by extension the character of the village.
Ecologically, the former orchard site is an unimproved grassland that supports a rich diversity of butterflies and other wildlife. The proposed development would result in a net loss of biodiversity, turning the area into what has been described as an “ecology desert”. There is no credible evidence that the scheme would deliver Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and is significantly inferior to a design outlined in the ecology report.
I believe this application is inappropriate and should be refused.
My objection in full:
I would like this application considered by the Northern Planning Committee…
I have a number of concerns about this application to the extent that I believe the outline application should be refused and these comments treated as an objection.
In the absence of a local plan and current SamDev policy as the prevailing policy framework I don’t consider this application to be appropriate for this site, for the following reasons:
- Harmful to the setting of the cider press listed building. The indicative layout would place the cider press within a residential curtalidge as an anciliary building with a suggested conversion to a storage shed. The cider press is an important feature of the village, as is the former orchard site itself, as part of the historic fabric of the village, it’s growth and establishment, full of coaching inns servicing the turnpike road. The cider press is already at risk and not as suitably protected as it should be and should be restored.
- Permissive paths have become well established over many years. This open access has allowed residents to enjoy the biodiversity and the heritage assets of the site. The cider press, existing sandstone walls on both Holyhead Road and Twyford Lane marking the principal estate boundaries, the Doveston estate trees, the original rear access gateway to the Doveston estate with a tree lined avenue, and the medieval archway (located in the rear garden of Doveston Court but viewable from the application site) would all become less accessible to the public by this application, to the detrimental of the enjoyment and understanding of the rich heritage of the village. Heritage assets that are currently publicly accessible would become inaccessible or less accessible to the public.
- The permissive nature of the site and the lack of maintenance of the sandstone walls facilitating that access has produced a public open space by custom and practice. A space which would potentially be better formalised as such with potential for a local nature recovery scheme in a better way than the Ecological and BNG appraisal suggests. That continued use would be more appropriate for the site than plans outlined in the application.
- The site is in open countryside in the SamDev plan. Had the local plan prevailed it would still have been outside the new development boundary and would therefore have been considered as inappropriate.
- The heritage statement is out of date but does suggest the cider press could be restored which should happen and the properly asset protected. I am unconvinced that this sort of use on the site would sufficiently protect this heritage assets.
- Adverse impact on the gateway to the village. Carol Ryan went to great length to describe the importance of the gateways into West Felton, in her evidence to support West Felton Parish Council’s application for a conservation area. She discussed the negative impact of recent development on the village and the harm this has done to the overall character and its heritage assets, both listed and unlisted. Further harm and unsympathetic development should be resisted.
- The outline application submitted contains contradictions within itself. The BNG assessment appears to have been carried out around a lower density scheme with a much higher opportunity for BNG as outlined in the assessment. A more sympathetic design which seemed to support local nature recovery and would have been more respectful to the setting of the cider press. The submitted outline flys in the face of that and undermines the value of the assessment. To proposed higher density development would have substantially lower BNG.
- Given the particular harm alluded to by the outline application, a full application and listed building application is more appropriate where all maters are considered on their merits and in the round. Leaving details to reserved matters would not be appropriate in this case so the outline application should be refused.
