Housing development rejected amid concerns over noisy trains
A housing development earmarked for land near a railway line has been thrown out for a second time by council planners.
Planning officers said the outline scheme for 10 new homes off Station Road in Baschurch, proposed by Basway Properties Ltd, would be too noisy for residents due to passing trains.
Planning permission had previously be granted for 11 dwellings at the site in 2013, but the development stalled before work got underway and permission lapsed in 2016.
A fresh application was refused in 2022 and a subsequent planning appeal thrown out by government inspectors a year later.
The new proposal directly addressed the appeal findings, which said not enough information had been provided about noise levels, with the submission of an acoustic report and a plan for a two-metre-high acoustic barrier to reduce the impact of passing trains for residents.
“In this situation, with the addition of a 2m tall acoustic barrier parallel to the rail line, and standard 1.8m fences to garden areas, the measurements and calculations illustrate that the external sound pressure levels are likely to achieve the guideline values,” read the noise impact report submitted by the applicant.
But Shropshire Council’s planning officers were not swayed, saying the busy Shrewsbury to Chester line would likely result in “significant adverse impacts” on residents at the site.
“Officer concerns are raised whether any acoustic fencing would provide any mitigation as the noise level will be above the fence line assuming the fence is located at the bottom of the embankment,” said a report from Shropshire Council Case Officer Richard Denison
“Residential development of this site is likely to result in significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life of future occupants, unless the site can be significantly redesigned to incorporate good acoustic design to enable acceptable internal noise levels to be achieved with windows open for ventilation.”
Baschurch Parish Council had raised “strong objections” to the scheme during the consultation period, which they said was an over-development which attracted “strong opposition” from local residents.
“The proposed development of up to 10 dwellings is excessive for the size and character of the site with massive concerns on the access to the development. Belle Vue Lane is unadopted and is in joint ownership of the residents, there is no proposal as to how to resolve that,” they said.
“There is strong opposition to this development from local residents who are deeply concerned about its impact on the area. The views of the community should be respected and taken into consideration.”
Refusing the application, council planning officers added that only half the required amount of public space had been earmarked for residents at the site for a scheme of this size.
A decision notice to refuse the application was issued on February 6.
