‘Affordable’ bungalows plan for ‘redundant’ Veolia site in Little Wenlock
Resource management company Veolia wants permission to build four ‘affordable’ bungalows on a former waste site in a Shropshire village.
The Staffordshire-based company has urged Telford & Wrekin Council to make a decision within five weeks on the principle of building on the 0.3-hectare site off Church Hill, in New Works, west of Lawley in Telford.
Planning agent Heatons, of Derby, has told council planners that Veolia has detailed that the site is redundant and no longer required as part of its portfolio.
Veolia proposes the development of four affordable self-build bungalows which would ‘benefit both the company and the local community’.
The agent wrote: “Once a valid application for permission in principle has been received, the local planning authority should make a decision on the proposal as quickly as possible, and in any event within the statutory time limit of five weeks unless a longer period has been agreed in writing with the applicant.”
Full technical details could follow if the council agrees to the principle of the development, the agent adds.
The site is recorded as a former open cast coal and clay site which was given permission to be used as a tip for waste materials in 1979.
It is recorded as being in a Coal Authority development high risk area.
The agent added that the development would be “sustainable through the provision of much needed affordable homes on an available previously developed site within a rural village setting that has links by public transport and on foot to neighbouring settlements and local services”.
“The proposal will make a positive contribution to affordable housing within the rural area, by providing four affordable dwellings on this site which is identified as appropriate for residential development.”
The agent adds that the site would “comfortably accommodate” parking, waste storage and front and rear gardens.
The agent has told the council that New Works “can be considered to be a sustainable location within the rural context of Telford”.
They added that any final scheme would also “seek to ensure that the amenities of existing and future residents will not be compromised by the proposal”.
The agent concludes that the dwellings are proposed to be sustainably designed to “harmonise with the rural character of the area, incorporating environmentally conscious materials and energy-efficient features”.
“The proposal aims to support local housing needs while ensuring that the development complements the surrounding landscape and contributes positively to the area’s long-term sustainability.”
Five neighbours have been included in a list of those being consulted, along with the area’s borough councillor and Little Wenlock Parish Council.
A public consultation has begun with the details on Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning portal with the reference TWC/2025/0771
