New border housing to go ahead, despite local concerns

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

Detailed plans for three houses on land by the Severn Oaks Holiday Park on the Shropshire border have been given the green light.

The planning application was submitted by Salop Leisure, the owner of Seven Oaks Holiday Park with the development earmarked for land south of the holiday park on the B4393 road with farmland and houses to the east, west and south of the site.

The site lies between the villages of Coedway and Crew Green and outline planning permission for the three dwellings was given back in 2017.

But, the site for the dwellings needed to be moved, after another outline planning application to add a tennis court and spa facilities to the holiday park, had been submitted and, was approved last year.

The three dwellings are two-storey dormer style bungalows with detached garages.

They will measure approximately 15.3 metres in length and 12.6 metres in width with a height to the eaves of 2.4 metres, and 5.8 metres to the ridge line.

And each will have a detached double garage measuring 6.2 metres in length and 6 metres in width with a heigh to the eaves of 2.2 metres and 5.4 metres to the ridge line.

Bausley with Criggion Community Council, who cover Crew Green and Coedway, objected to the plans when they met to discuss them last November.

They said that the bungalows would be built outside the Powys Local Development Plan (LDP) and, as they were not affordable housing,  the community gained “no benefit”.

The council feared that if they are allowed, it would “set a precedent” of building outside the LDP in the the area.

PCC planning case officer Richard Edwards, explained that the original plans had been approved as a “departure application” which means that it did not comply with planning policy,

But the application occurred between the end of the Powys Unitary Development Plan (UDP) in 2016 and the adoption of the Local Development Plan (LDP) in 2018.

During this period, Mr Edwards explained at that time the Welsh Government’s planning policy and guidance” required the authority to give “significant weight in decision making” to any shortfall in housing land supply.

Mr Edwards said: “Officers are satisfied that the proposed development complies with the relevant policies and the recommendation is one of approval.”