Drayton Road Planning Application – Refused

Drayton Road Proposed Site Plan

Drayton Road Proposed Site Plan
Shropshire Council’s Planning Department has yet to publish the decisions made at last Tuesday’s North Planning Committee. However this weekend’s Market Drayton Advertiser (12 June, 2015) carries a report on page 13 which states that the Committee went against the Planning Officer’s recommendation and rejected the application.
This may not be the end of the process though as the applicants have the right to appeal the decision.
Update 18 June: Today the Planning Committee’ decision was posted here on Shropshire Council’s website. It states:

Land off Drayton Road, Hodnet, Market Drayton, TF9 3NF (14/03403/OUT)Outline application for the erection of 14 dwellings (to include access and footpath link to Wollerton).
Decision:  That planning permission be refused against the officer’s recommendation for the following reasons:
It was acknowledged that the housing proposed by the development would contribute economically and socially by boosting the housing supply including open market and affordable housing and help towards improved pedestrian link between Wollerton and Hodnet to which weight was given. However it was considered that this was outweighed by the harm identified. The Committee were concerned that the development would result in an unacceptable harm to the open countryside and have an adverse impact on the adjacent conservation area specifically on the approach to the village. Furthermore weight was given to the fact that the proposed development was not plan led being contrary to both current saved policies of the North Shropshire Local Plan, the emerging policies in the Site Allocations and Management of Development DPD, which classified the site as being within open countryside contrary to Shropshire Core Strategy CS5, and the environmental impact on the countryside as indicated in paragraph 7 of the National Planning Policy Framework.