Agenda item

This application was for the conversion and extension of the former public house on the site to 10 assisted / transitional living units. The facility would be C2 use class and managed by Telford & Wrekin Council as part of the Council’s corporate and social responsibility to provide facilities to cater for growing needs. ‘C2’ included different groups of people. However, the Council’s Housing Strategy & Commissioning Programme Manager, in a letter published on the online file on 12 July 2023, had confirmed that the facility would be used to provide supported accommodation for young people aged 16+. Such groups could include care leavers who required a level of support to gain life skills prior to moving to independent living with their own accommodation tenancies. The further information in the letter was submitted in response to residents’ requests to clarify the type of accommodation being provided. The letter also confirmed the facility would be managed 24/7 with staff present at all times.

Cllr L Jinks, Town Councillor, spoke against the application citing inaccurate and misleading documentation, as well as concerns around use suitability.

Mr M Gledhill, a resident, objected to the application with concerns around layout, density, overdevelopment and noise.

The planning officer informed members that the site was located in Wellington in an area with a mix of properties and facilities. The proposed supported accommodation would support young people, with a registered provider operating the facility for Telford & Wrekin Council.  The development was in line with both local and national policy and would bring a dilapidated property back into use. The Council’s Built Heritage Specialist was supportive of the principal but objected to a number of specific elements, it was considered that on balance the benefits of the development outweighed the harm to the heritage asset.

Discussion focussed on harm to the heritage asset, securing the accommodation for young people, and staff accommodation on site.

Upon being put to a vote, it was by a majority:

RESOLVED – that that DELEGATED AUTHORITY be granted to the Development Management Service Delivery Manager to GRANT FULL PLANNING PERMISSION subject to Condition(s) and Informative(s).