Outline application to include access for a mixed-use development comprising up to 800 no dwellings, a care home of up to 80 units, a secondary school and local centre with associated access, infrastructure, landscaping and drainage

The Principal Planning Officer introduced the application which was an outline application to include access for a mixed-use development comprising up to 800 no dwellings, a care home of up to 80 units, a secondary school and local centre with associated access, infrastructure, landscaping and drainage and with reference to the drawings and photographs displayed, she drew Members’ attention to the to the location and layout.

The Principal Planning Officer drew Members attention to the information contained in the schedule of late representation which had been circulated by email.

Millie Dodd spoke in favour of the proposal in accordance with Shropshire Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees.

Matt Lakin spoke on behalf of the Albrighton Development Action Group  against the proposal in accordance with Shropshire Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees.

Councillor Colin Noakes spoke on behalf of Albrighton and Donington Parish Council against the proposal in accordance with Shropshire Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees

Councillor Nigel Lumby, local Ward Councillor made a statement in accordance with Shropshire Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees.  He then left the table and took no part in the debate or voting on the item.

Megan Wilson, (Agent), spoke in support of the proposal in accordance with Shropshire Council’s Scheme for Public Speaking at Planning Committees.

Members commented that they felt that the application site did not meet the criteria to be described as “grey belt” and that the development did not meet the criteria for development on the greenbelt. They also had concerns about the scale and sustainability of the application and the impact on the local community.  They acknowledged the large amount of opposition from the local community as evidenced by the large number of objections on the planning portal and the number of signatures on the petition that had been submitted.

RESOLVED

That in accordance with the Officer recommendation the application be refused for the following reasons: -

Policy

The proposed development site is wholly located in Green Belt countryside outside of any settlement development boundary which is not safeguarded or allocated land and is not regarded as being grey belt. Development in this location would be incompatible with the principles of sustainable development in that it would undermine the development strategy set out in the adopted Shropshire Council Core Strategy and Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) Plan which seek to facilitate residential development within a sustainable settlement hierarchy. In addition to the proposal being inappropriate development in the Green Belt, it would result in harm to the character and appearance of the area. The wider benefits of this BMV land have not been recognised, nor has it been demonstrated that development of this site is necessary in preference to poorer quality land or land outside the Green Belt, therefore effective use of the land has not been made in accordance with NPPF paragraph 187b), and Sections 11 and 13. Less than substantial harm to the significance of the Boningale Conservation Area and Grade II Listed Lea Hall and Barn has been identified, and whilst it is acknowledged that the proposal offers a number of wider local community benefits beyond the site itself, these have not been identified as responding to a local need. The adverse impacts of this unsuitable location would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposed development contrary to the presumption in favour of sustainable development set out in the NPPF. The proposed development will conflict with Policies CS1, CS3, CS5, CS6 and CS17 of the adopted Shropshire Council Core Strategy, and MD1, MD3, MD6, MD7a and S1 of the SAMDev Plan, in addition to the policies within the NPPF taken as a whole. Even in the context of the presumption in favour of sustainable development and associated tilted balance, it is not considered that the benefits of the scheme warrant a departure from the Development Plan.

Green Belt

The Local Planning Authority has accorded substantial weight to the high level of harm which would result from the loss of this 48 hectare section of the West Midlands Metropolitan Green Belt through the proposed development. The proposed development site is within a parcel of Green Belt characterised by agriculture, tree lines and cover, and an absence of urbanising influences which make a strong contribution to checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas and to assisting in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment. The proposed development site is not regarded as grey belt and consequently the proposed development is inappropriate development in the Green Belt. It is therefore, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and prejudicial to the reasons for including land within it. It does not constitute any of the exceptions to inappropriate development identified in paragraphs 154 or 155 of the National Planning Policy Framework and the circumstances advanced in the application are not considered to amount to the very special circumstances required to overcome an objection to the high level of harm identified. The proposed development is therefore contrary to Shropshire Council Core Strategy Policy CS5, SAMDev Plan Policy MD6 and the guidance set out in Section 13 of the National Planning Policy Framework.