Housing plans for former Telford school site to go ahead, despite receiving 29 objections
Plans to turn a former Telford school into rental housing have been formally approved despite facing significant opposition.
The former Ketley Bank Board School, built in 1878, will be turned into seven new properties. On the site off Main Road in Ketley Bank there will also be 21 new homes built, with 10 of these being three-bedroom and the others having two bedrooms.
When the plans went out for consultation 29 objections were received with the safety of Main Road one of the issues, with residents describing the road as a ‘rat run with speed issues’.
Residents argued that the 20mph speed limit is often ignored and said that the road structure was ‘not suitable’ for the proposed volume of traffic.
There was also an argument that the building should be ‘gifted’ to the local community and the surrounding area ‘turned into allotments’.
The vacant school building was previously Abacus Day Nursery but has been empty since 2019, with the building needing extensive renovation.
The applicant’s statement said: “The site is underutilised, and the former school building has been in a state of neglect since it ceased operation as a day nursery.
“The nursery had rooms available for community uses, however these were not used due to their age, condition and size being inadequate. The tenant vacated the site given the costs associated with maintaining the property which was no longer fit for purpose.
“Following the above and the lack of interest in the building, it was decided that the property would be brought forward for redevelopment.
“The existing building would require substantial investment to bring it back into a viable community use and in the applicant’s view there is no business case for that.
“It is considered that the provision of private residential accommodation on the site is the only viable option to bring the building back into use.”
The applicant says that all the properties will be for private rent, with seven of the 21 homes available at ‘discounted market rent’ to cover the affordable housing element
The housing development includes 54 residents' parking spaces and two visitor parking spaces.
Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning office recommended the scheme for approval. Its report said: “On balance, the proposals are considered compliant with policy in terms of appearance, scale and design and would have a positive impact on the character and appearance of the area.
“Whilst officers have identified some concerns with the private amenity spaces of some of the properties on site, this has been considered in the context of the wider scheme which delivers an area of communal amenity space between the existing building and the new dwellings.
“The local planning authority considers that when the advantages and disadvantages of the scheme are weighed against each other, the benefits outweigh the detriments and the application is therefore recommended for approval.
“The level of movement that would be anticipated from the development is considered to have an insignificant impact upon the local highway network, taking into consideration the existing use of part of the site. There is no technical objection from the local highway authority to the proposal.”
The Telford & Wrekin planning committee considered the proposals in March and granted the development subject to a Section 106 Agreement – the plans have now been formally approved.
As part of the building work the developer will pay £31,200 towards nearby play/recreation and sport facilities. There will also be a contribution of £131,407 towards the local education provision.
