Safety concerns raised over planned nine-home development in Telford

Plans are currently at the consultation stage for nine homes to be built on the site of the former Haven Boarding Kennels & Cattery in Lightmoor, Telford.

Six letters of objection and two in support have been submitted to Telford & Wrekin Council so far.

The council’s highways, ecology and coal authority departments have supported the scheme subject to conditions.

However, Dawley Hamlet Parish Council has called in the application to be decided by the council’s planning committee.

The parish council says that there are ‘serious issues and concerns’ about the infrastructure around the proposed development after a development of 52 homes was approved ‘several yards’ above the proposed site.

They state that Lightmoor Road is a ‘busy through road’ used by residents of Doseley and Little Dawley along with drivers using it as a ‘rat run’. Lorries also make deliveries to businesses located on the road.

“The road has the national speed limit, no street lighting, and no pavements, making it extremely dangerous for pedestrians,” state Dawley Hamlet Parish Council.

“There are many places on this road that makes it difficult for pedestrians to see oncoming vehicles and drivers to see on coming pedestrians, until the very last minute.”

The parish council have also raised fears that the traffic at the T junction at Lightmoor Road and the A4169 will be made worse by vehicles from the two planned developments.

“Both the yet unfinished development and this new development will increase the numbers of vehicles using Lightmoor Road, as well as the number of pedestrians who need to access local facilities such as shops, doctor’s surgeries and schools,” the parish council adds.

“Pedestrians will have two main centres to access local facilities, Little Dawley and Woodside. To arrive at Little Dawley, pedestrians will have to use Lightmoor Road and face the hazards mentioned.

“To arrive at Woodside pedestrians must cross the A4169, Ironbridge Bypass. Close to the busy junction of Lightmoor Road and the Ironbridge Bypass there is an exceedingly small refuge, which affords little protection to pedestrians. It is inadequate now and will be more so when residents move into the new and proposed new development.”

The parish council has asked that the Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning committee visit the site ‘to see for themselves’ the potential hazards pedestrians would face on Lightmoor Road.

An access statement submitted by the applicant says that to ‘alleviate concerns’ from the council’s highways development control the alignment of the access has been revised.

The access has been ‘adjusted’ to meet the southern channel of Lightmoor Road at an angle of 114 degrees.

The applicant added that the access now extends further in a southerly direction than previously proposed.

Also addressed in the access statement is the number of vehicles arriving and departing to the nine homes which is forecasted to be 3.9 vehicles during the morning traffic and 4.2 vehicles in the evening.

“From experience of visiting boarding kennels and from the comments made by the client, it is considered that trip rate associated with the proposed development will be considerably less than that of boarding kennels,” says the access statement.

A speed survey outside the development showed that 85 per cent of drivers were travelling at or below 16.1 miles per hour westbound and 20.6mph eastbound.

The visibility splay is 19.1 metres westbound and 25.8m eastbound.

The planning application can be viewed on the council’s planning portal on their website, application number: TWC/2023/0481. The consultation phase ends on November 17.