Developers confirm up to 1,500 new homes in ‘Bratton Green’ plans

A developer has confirmed that it is preparing to lodge a planning application to build up to 1,500 homes to the north of Telford.

Named ‘Bratton Green’ by developer Bloor Homes, the site covers 88.5 hectares of farm land between the A442 and the B5063 north of the Bratton and Shawbirch area.

Mark Rose, a planning agent for Bloor Homes was speaking on the second day of local plan review hearings in Telford.

The hearing was examining how the local plan will bring about thousands of new homes under criticism that Telford & Wrekin Council is being ‘very optimistic’.

Mr Rose told the hearing on Wednesday (February 25) that proposals for its part of a new sustainable community had gone through the pre-application stages.

“The application is being readied for submission,” Mr Rose told inspectors Mike Worden and Catherine Carpenter.

Mr Rose added after that the application would be ready for submission to the council after the conclusion of three weeks of hearings.

The developers have already been told by planners what problems a future application would have to deal with to make it acceptable.

Documents already sent to the council say that the development could include employment land, a primary school, a local centre and a mobility hub. It would have open space together and drainage systems.

The council had come under pressure from other representatives for being “over optimistic” about its planner delivery of sites.

Doug Moulton, representing Boningale Developments, said the local plan was too reliant on building up to 8,000 homes on three new ‘sustainable communities’.

And Ian Gilbert, of Northern Trust Land, said major applications could take longer than five years to get through the planning system and another year to start.

Rachel Danemann, of the Home Builders Federation, said the industry was seeing ‘more challenges’ but Telford and Wrekin is “better than other areas.

“The council is more pro-growth and the ‘Nimbys’ are less vocal,” she added.

Council officials told the hearing that the council has enough housing supply to cover more than six years of planned growth. It needs to prove it has enough for five.

And the council is confident the plan can be considered ‘sound’ from that point of view.

Planning consultant Kirsten Ward, of DLP, supporting the council, said the council is set to build 430 more homes than the plan expects by 2041.

Gerald Kells, representing CPRE Shropshire, said Telford is “over-providing” housing sites.

Figures have been increased from 20,200 over the plan period to now build 20,680 homes partly because of a proposal to tweak the plan period from 2020-2040 to 2021 to 2041.

Inspector Mr Worden confirmed that the inspection team would be looking into individual development sites to come to their own conclusions.

Council representatives said they would be able to let them have background information to justify their case.

After the session, Councillor Jenny Urey (Independent, Muxton) said she agreed with the CPRE case that the council is allowing too much development.

She represents an area which has already seen major development and is set to see more with another major ‘sustainable community’.

Councillor Urey said the community supports ‘small scale’ housing development but not the large sites included in the draft local plan and had strongly opposed early proposals.

The councillor had launched a petition some time ago calling for a ‘halt to the construction of 2,700 houses in Muxton and The Humbers’. That had been signed by more than 3,700 people.