CONTROVERSIAL plans to build houses in Fradley have been rejected again by councillors.
The proposals would have delivered 109 homes, with 31 being classed as affordable.
But members of Lichfield District Council planning committee said the Horner Avenue scheme was not in compliance with the Local Plan which had allocated the site for employment land. They also said that access to the site wasn’t suitable.
Residents packed the public gallery to hear councillors debate the application – with so many in attendance that a second room was needed to accommodate everyone.
The application was called in to the planning committee by Cllr Mike Wilcox who said the application was like a bad penny. He told fellow councillors:
“Some of you might remember the first application that was submitted back in the Summer of 2020, so here we are now in the Summer of 2024 and the good residents of Fradley along with myself and colleagues are still fighting this dangerous and practical application four years on.”
Fradley Parish Council chairman Glen Bown told councillors:
“After reading the planning report you will conclude this is the perfect planning application. It’s not. Is it too good to be true? Well, yes it is.
“One side of the site will be boarded by three metre high bond top with two metres worth of fencing. This will be protecting residents from 24/7 lorry noise from a distribution centre just six metres away.
“The developers’ acoustic specialist says this is adequate, but the owners of the distribution centre’s specialists say that the noise will without doubt blight new residents.
“The site also borders the A38. This noisy trunk road runs only 30 metres from the proposed blocks of social rental flats. These are protected by their garden fence and their windows which will be sealed shut to help quell the noise.
“Social housing does not have to be poor housing. Please don’t approve the slums of the future. It’s not just rich folk that need windows to open.”
Councillors previously refused an application for 115 houses on the site which was appealed.
Following the comments made by the planning inspector the application had been amended to make it compliant with the ruling.
Planning agent Philip Rawle said:
“The national planning practice guidance tells us it is unreasonable for a local planning authority to persist in objections to a scheme or elements of a scheme which an inspector has previously indicated to be acceptable. In this case the inspector said he concerns about two matters and those have been addressed.
“Further advantages are clear and compelling, it will deliver affordable housing, helping local people who are currently priced out of the market to own their own homes. It will deliver a Community Infrastructure Levy payment of approximately £560,000.”
The development would contribute also have provided a £1.5million contribution to fund school places and more than £70,000 towards healthcare.
But councillors were still not convinced by the plans during the almost two hours of discussion.
Following a motion to refuse, members voted to reject the original recommendation to approve the application.
Now labour is in they can campaign all they like, it will go ahead whether they like it or not.
Can someone please explain to me what “affordable homes” are exactly? ie. Social Housing? Very small ‘houses’ that have no kitchen and are more like Studio Flats with a tiny little space at the back called a “garden”? If on the other hand- someone has a home like this with a big garden feel free to correct me! Also: people who move into these homes will need dentists & doctors but the developers never seem to think of this- why should they? They won’t have to live there anyway! You can wait up to a month for a PHONE APPOINTMENT! – and what’s a “space for a Health Hub? Ahh- I know: a field of course!!
Rant over!!
@Miss Sardine.
sadly affordable homes are Little Tiny Boxes. A bit like a Bedsit which has an upstairs.a hankerchief sized Garden. They are also the places where you can hear every living noise of your Neighbour even to their Toilet Habits. The places that become inner city rat runs after 20 years. You are quite correct. No infrastructure in Place. And still they continue to Build
Here’s the official definition of affordable housing, which includes some additional information. And this, from the House of Commons Library, has more context. Both of those pages are from 2023, so are reasonably up to date.