Shropshire Star

Old buildings to be demolished as 13 new Telford homes given green light

The Wrekin Housing Trust has won permission to build 13 new houses in Hadley.

Published

The eight-flat block on Pool Meadow and two existing houses on Church Street will be demolished to make way for the project.

The trust’s development manager Steve Swann told the committee the old building was “expensive to maintain and difficult to let”, and said the new “much-needed family homes” would be 100 per cent affordable and wheelchair-friendly.

But a representative of the parish council told the Telford and Wrekin planning committee that, while they support development of the site in principal, it is a busy commuter route so extra care needed to be taken over safety.

Jon Brumwell, representing Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council, said the site is on a bus route and is a “very busy pedestrian route”, but a section of Church Street, on the north side across from the planned new houses, lacks a paved footpath.

Five of the 13 houses will be built on Church Street. Of these, two have wide side-by-side driveways and three have double-length single-track driveways.

Mr Brumwell said: “Vehicles parked there will, first of all, reduce visibility for vehicles emerging from Pool Meadow, and mean anyone emerging from those spaces will have to reverse onto Church Street.”

Hazard

He said there was recently a collision where a car, coming down Church Street, left the road and hit a wall on the corner of Dove Close.

“There is a real concern that, in adding an additional hazard in the form of parking spaces, you will increase the risk of a serious road accident,” he said.

Councillors voted seven to one to approve the application.

Councillor Jayne Greenaway, the one committee member to vote against, said: “I don’t dispute that this is a good development, or could be”, but added that “the parish council has made a very relevant point”.

But officers from Telford and Wrekin Council’s highways department said the three-metre pavement on the south side of Church Street ensured the cars didn’t obscure the highway and left a 25m field of vision.

Speaking after the vote, Mr Swann said: “It’s fantastic news that councillors have approved the building of these 13 much-needed family homes.

“Once completed, the nine two-bedroom houses, two bungalows and two larger three- or four-bedroom homes, which will be specially adapted for families with a wheelchair need, will be let affordably to local families.

“Last year we built 566 new homes and we remain committed to providing quality new housing across Telford and Wrekin and throughout the wider region.”

By Alex Moore, local democracy reporter