Place plans were developed to include a main centre (often a market town) and its surrounding smaller towns, villages and rural hinterland. These areas are recognised in the Local Plan as functioning geographical areas, with strong linkages to and from the main town and the wider area.
The Craven Arms and Surrounding Area Place Plan covers the area identified within the red outline on the map image on this page. It summarises and prioritises the local infrastructure needs which are required to support the sustainable development of the area, and identifies the wider investment needs to assist delivery of the community’s vision and aspirations.
Data and information review
The infrastructure project list is based on information submitted to us by town and parish councils in each place plan area. This information is then tested against data held by us, and further informed by consultation with a range of infrastructure providers.
By gathering this information, we've been able to understand more clearly the needs of each place plan area and use this information to make some difficult decisions about prioritisation of projects.
Key infrastructure issues
A review of information for this area has shown that key infrastructure issues are:
- Development of additional employment land is required in order to provide premises for expanding local businesses.
- Whilst such growth is desirable in order to ensure the sustainability of the area, this will require improvement of highways and various utilities and services, including water management and ICT / Broadband provision.
Projects
Several projects have been identified and prioritised for the area. You can find the details for each project in the Crave Arms Place Plan which is attached to this page to view or download.
This area in the countywide plan
Core Strategy
The Core Strategy recognises the role of Shropshire’s market towns and key centres through a specific policy - Policy CS3. This policy outlines how all our towns have distinctive identities, which new development is expected to reinforce, by respecting each town’s distinctive character, and by being sensitive to its landscape setting, historic features, and the towns’ functions.
You can view the full strategy on our planning policy web pages.
For Craven Arms, Policy CS3 recognises that:
- Craven Arms will have development as a local growth point in the A49 corridor, growing its role in providing services and employment opportunities for the local area.
- The town is located on the A49 between Shrewsbury and Ludlow, with a railway station on the Crewe and Heart of Wales line.
- The number of resident workers exceeds the number of available jobs
SAMDev policies
The policies for Craven Arms, and then for the wider area, are as follows:
- Craven Arms is a primary growth point on the A49 trunk road through south Shropshire and is a focus for significant development as a principal gateway serving the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town will deliver around 500 dwellings and around 15 hectares of employment land from 2006 to 2026.
- New housing development will be delivered through the allocation of a combination of greenfield and brownfield sites to deliver a balance between new housing and local employment opportunities. Specific employment allocations for 10.5 hectares are identified.
- To support the role of Craven Arms as a principal service centre, the relocation of the existing abattoir from Corvedale Road will permit a mixed use regeneration of the key area of change.
- Proposals for small scale office, workshop and light industrial uses and expansion of existing businesses will be supported where they are well located and well suited to employment use.
Key points from the Local Plan Review
- Craven Arms will act as a key centre and contribute towards the strategic growth objectives in the south of the county.
- It is expected that Craven Arms will continue to explore ways in which it can effectively implement an ambitious growth strategy.
- A key proposal for the growth and regeneration of Craven Arms is the relocation of the Euro Quality Lambs (EQL) abattoir from its existing and physically constrained site on the high street at Corvedale Road
- The high street will be regenerated as a Key Area of Change to better meet the needs of the community and to improve the eastern gateway into the town.
- Housing sites to accommodate around 325 new dwellings will help to deliver the growth aspirations for Craven Arms. These sites are expected to provide significant new market and affordable housing to meet local needs within the town and the Craven Arms place plan area.
- In addition to the identified site allocations, there are significant opportunities for the development of windfall sites within the existing development boundary and an allowance of around 90 dwellings has been made for this purpose.
More about Craven Arms
Craven Arms is a small market town situated in the South Shropshire hills on the A49. It is located south of Church Stretton and north of Ludlow.
Craven Arms developed as a small rural settlement and is a relatively new town (for Shropshire), being only a small village "Newton" on a map of 1695. The arrival of the railway line led to the growth of the town in the 19th century.
The Craven Arms Hotel, located at the Junction of the A49 and B4368, was built around 1800 to provide accommodation to travellers. As the town grew it adopted the name of the hotel.
Craven Arms is the eleventh largest employment centre in Shropshire and is one of the main locations of businesses and jobs in the south of the county, albeit notably smaller than Ludlow and slightly smaller than Church Stretton. Three hundred businesses have registered offices in Craven Arms (Source: MINT (Bureau van Dijk), July 2017) which is less than 2% of the Shropshire total and approximately 1,300 people are employed in the town (1.1% of the Shropshire total).
List of parishes and local elected members
This place plan covers the following town and parish councils:
The following Shropshire Council elected members represent constituencies within this place plan area:
Other local plans
When developing the place plan for an area we also look at any other local plans and strategies that focus on infrastructure needs.
For Craven Arms and the surrounding area, the relevant plans include: