Demolished buildings on former AGA site in Coalbrookdale must be 'reinstated' says Historic England
Retrospective planning permission for the demolition and partial demolition of two listed buildings in Coalbrookdale has been withdrawn after concerns were raised by Historic England.
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A retrospective planning application was being sought by Shropshire Homes for the demolition and partial demolition of two buildings on the site of the former Coalbrookdale Works.
The site, once home to the Coalbrookdale AGA foundry, was purchased by Shropshire Homes in 2018, with plans lodged three years later to build 101 homes on the site.
Those plans looked to be going full steam ahead until the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), a body which makes recommendations to Unesco over world heritage sites, intervened.
The chairman of the Icomos-UK World Heritage Committee warned that the development would transform the site "into a dense, high-rise housing estate" and led the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to warn that the Ironbridge Gorge's World Heritage Site status could be placed at risk, and the gorge might ultimately be delisted if the proposal went ahead.
After almost three years of stagnation, Shropshire Homes asked for the scheme to be determined by a planning inspector, who ultimately dismissed the appeal - refusing planning permission for the site.
Then, in February this year, as part of continued attempts to successfully redevelop the rotting former factory, the developer applied for retrospective planning permission for the demolition of the Grade II listed Pattern Shop, and the partial demolition of another - the Wing Shop.
