15-home Gobowen, Shropshire housing plan is approved

Plans for the development in Whittington Road, Gobowen, were first given the green light in 2014.

Developer Chartland Homes submitted a new planning application for the site in January with a new layout proposed to ‘suit their preference and tastes’.

“Whilst there is nothing particularly wrong with the approved scheme, it is fairly standard and uninspiring, and we feel could be significantly improved,” said the applicant.

“The only issue for consideration should be the change in layout and design of the houses and bungalows which we feel are a significant improvement on the approved scheme.”

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The previous plans included three five-bedroom homes which have been removed as the applicant felt they were ‘far too large and uneconomic for a commercial development’.

The new plans include a two-bedroom bungalow and a pair of two-bedroom dormer bungalows. There is also planned to be a mixture of two, three and four bedroomed homes.

Four of the 15 homes will be classes as affordable with a mixture of two and three-bedroom properties included.

Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council supported the revised application and ‘welcomed’ the inclusion of bungalows which they said met a ‘demographic need’.

They added: “The parish council request that that a local lettings policy is developed, giving priority to people with a local connection and employed in the public sector locally.”

Shropshire Council planning officer Mark Perry concluded that there is a ‘sufficient’ mixture of house types throughout the development ‘to provide visual interest to the development’.

He added: “There is no clear defining character that the proposed development needs to integrate with given the style of the two existing dwellings and the varied mix of dwellings along Whittington Road and those on the adjacent housing development.”

The application site is currently an unused area of grassland and will be accessed from an existing driveway off Whittington Road serving Tilings and a single estate road proposed.

“Views of the proposed development will be possible across the neighbouring fields, in particular from the north,” the planning officer added.

“However, existing tree planting does substantially screen a large proportion of the site when viewed from the east and the existing development along Whittington Road screen much of the development with only intermittent and brief glimpses of the development possible when travelling along Whittington Road.

“It is considered that the proposed density of the development is appropriate; it provides enough private amenity space for future occupiers and provides adequate separation between dwellings.

“The layout also provides adequate space to allow the existing mature trees along the eastern side of the site to be retained.

“It is considered that the changes to the proposed dwellings and the layout of the site will continue to respect the rural character of the area and not detrimentally impact upon the amenities of any neighbours.”