The boss of a Shrewsbury housing developers has hit back at claims his company has broken planning regulations at a controversial scheme in Belle Vue.
Residents were furious when Shropshire Homes unveiled plans to extend its development at Chatsworth House by building an extra five-bedroomed house. They feared a number of protected trees would be lost.
Hermitages Residents’ Group launched a campaign to fight the proposals, claiming they had not been consulted. Residents also said that a pre-condition to earlier planning approval, which was to build eight houses plus the remodelling of Chatsworth House, had been ignored with trees, shrubs and hedges all left unprotected.
But bosses at Shropshire Homes have refuted the claims made in last week’s Chronicle, insisting they approached the residents’ group and offered to meet members to discuss any concerns – but their offer was yet to be taken up.
Howard Thorne, managing director, said: “We had planning permission for eight four-bedroomed houses and recently submitted a further application for another house on adjoining land. The Hermitages Residents’ Group had been advised of this and we had offered to meet neighbours to discuss the proposals. However this offer has not been taken up.
“We work hard to comply with the requirements of planning permissions and were annoyed that unfounded allegations were reported.”
He said claims by residents that Shropshire Homes had blatently ignored planning conditions were ‘completely untrue’.
Stuart Thomas, central area manager for development management at Shropshire Council, said: “I can confirm that at this stage officers are satisfied that there has been no breach of planning conditions in relation to the Chatsworth Gardens redevelopment.”
Mr Thorne had previously stated a full arboricultural report was commissioned at the property to ascertain the landscape value of each individual tree. Two would be retained and some trees of low value would be removed if the application was approved, he said.
By David Seadon
