Station Road Housing Development: Drop-in Event

This week’s Market Drayton Advertiser (7 Sept. 12, page 2) carries a report of a consultation evening planned for next Friday which will give local residents a first opportunity to look at proposals for a housing development in Station Road, Hodnet.
The drop-in session is to be held at the Lyon Hall, this Friday (14 September 2012) between 5.00 & 8.00pm.
The Shropshire Housing Group, of which Meres and Mosses Housing Association is the local management group, is seeking to develop the site as affordable housing for local people. Representatives of Shropshire Housing Group, Shropshire HomePoint and BBLB Architects will all be present.
Local Shropshire Councillor Karen Calder told the Advertiser, “I would urge all local residents to drop in and find out the facts about the development.”
The report does not say which site in Station Road the proposals concern, but the recently closed SAMDev (Site Allocations and Management of Development) consultation identified only one possible location for future housing development. This is the old Highways Depot, close to the bridge. The SAMDev proposals identify this site as HOD001, and say that it has an indicative capacity for 12 dwellings. According to the Advertiser’s headline, the proposals being  put forward are for 19 homes!
Councillor Calder makes an important point when she urges all local residents to attend next week’s event and find out the facts about the plans. It is important that everyone makes use of the consultative and democratic procedures to ensure that the area is developed in a way which is best for all residents, especially those whose homes may one day be on this and similar sites.