Planning Application submitted and subsequently for a new modular office building at the Coates Quarry Works in Much Wenlock, Shropshire.

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Following appointment by the applicant En-Plan carried out a  pre-application consultation with Shropshire County Council as to the merits of the scheme and the design proposed.  The feedback from the Planning Department allowed the applicant to understand the challenges facing the proposal and the constraints of the site.

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The Application Site

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Grange Fencing Ltd occupies a large mostly level site of 0.10ha on the north side of the B4371 road that runs between Much Wenlock and Longville in the Dale adjacent to the Wenlock Edge. Access to this former quarry site is adjacent to a former settling tank and most of the inward access to the depot runs parallel to the road until it does 90 degree turn through a bank and into a large levelled site where the fencing is constructed and stored.

A further branch of the track continues to run along the roadside treed boundary and then does a 180 degree turn up to a levelled area of made ground where there is a former concrete plant to one side. This is the site of 1600m2 for the erection of a new office building for off staff in connection with this business. The parking
provision would be sited to the west of the building.

 

The Planning Application

 

En-Plan: Planing & Architecture then formulated a full planning application that was subsequently submitted for a new single-storey office unit in this sensitive site that is located in the Shropshire Hills AONB and adjacent to a Site of Specific Scientific Interest.  An ecological Appraisal has accompanied the application as have sectional details showing the limited impact of the proposal and its position in relation to tree screening and the adjacent highway. 

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Grange Fencing Ltd occupies a large mostly level site of 0.10ha on the north side of the B4371 road that runs between Much Wenlock and Longville in the Dale adjacent to the Wenlock Edge. Access to this former quarry site is adjacent to a former settling tank and most of the inward access to the depot runs parallel to the
road until it does 90 degree turn through a bank and into a large levelled site where the fencing is constructed and stored.

A further branch of the track continues to run along the roadside treed boundary and then does a 180 degree turn up to a levelled area of made ground where there is a former concrete plant to one side. This is the site of 1600m2 for the erection of a new office building for off staff in connection with this business. The parking
provision would be sited to the west of the building.

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Adopted Core Strategy Policy CS13 Economic Development, Enterprise and Employment. This policy seeks to support enterprise and deliver sustainable economic growth and prosperous communities. The policy also seeks to ensure that the business investment recognises the economic benefits of the County’s environment and quality of life as unique selling points which need to be valued, conserved and enhanced. There is a need to promote a sustainable pattern of development in line with the spatial strategy means that much of the economic development takes place in Shrewsbury and the Market towns, but in rural areas small scale economic development and non-agricultural farm diversification schemes, green tourism and leisure are areas of economic activity for which policy provision needs to be made. This type of development needs to link in with Policy CS5 as proposals in the countryside should be consistent with their scale and
impact with the character and quality of the location.
 

With regard to the NPPF, Section 6 is relevant here – Building a strong competitive economy and paragraphs 183 and 184 in particular. The principle of replacement business use in this former quarry has already been
established by the applicant who makes fencing and trades as ‘Grange Fencing Ltd’ with their current head office based in Telford. Apart from the application site itself, the rest of the quarry floor has been laid to concrete and the business operates from there. This building will provide a support facility to the existing
operations that take place on the site.
 

In terms of economic benefits, these would be similar to those that current exist on the site in the existing temporary structures near to the entrance of the site. By allowing all of the staff to work in one location, this would allow for local economic community benefits as all staff would be able to use the local facilities in Much
Wenlock thus allowing for compliance with the objectives of the NPPF and CS13.

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The adopted Core Strategy Policy CS5 Countryside and Green Belt states that new development will be strictly controlled in accordance with national planning policies protecting the countryside. It does however permit development proposals on appropriate sites which maintain and enhance countryside vitality and character
where they improve the sustainability of the rural communities. Any application will therefore need to assess the characteristics of the site and the nature of any impacts to the local environment and amenities and consider whether any identified impacts are capable of being satisfactorily mitigated.
 

Policy CS6: Sustainable Design and Development Principles; this policy seeks to ensure that to create sustainable places, development will be designed to a high quality using sustainable design principles to achieve an inclusive and accessible environment which respects and enhances local distinctiveness and which
mitigates and adapts to climate change. This will be achieved by protecting, conserving and enhancing the natural and built environment and is appropriate in its setting.

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Policy CS17 which deals with Environmental Networks is also concerned with design in relation to the environment and places the context of a site at the forefront of consideration so that any development should protect and enhance the diversity, high quality and local character of Shropshire’s built, natural and historic
environment and it does not adversely affect the values and function of these
assets.
 

Policy MD12 of the SAMDev is also important here as this deals with the Natural Environment which in connection with other associated policies seeks through applying guidance, the conservation. enhancement and restoration of the county’s natural assets which will be achieved by ensuring that the social and economic
benefits of the development can be demonstrated to clearly outweigh the harm to the natural assets where proposals are likely to have an unavoidable significant adverse effect, directly or indirectly or cumulatively on any of the following: locally designated biodiversity sites; priority species and habitats; woodlands, trees and
hedges and landscape character and local distinctiveness. In these circumstances a hierarchy of mitigation then compensation measures will be sought. There is also a need to encourage development which appropriately conserves, enhances, connects, restores or recreates natural assets particularly where this improves the extent or value of these assets are recognised as being in poor condition. Finally
there is a need to support proposals which contribute positively to special characteristics such as adjacent high priority biodiversity areas.

The response from the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership has been noted and although the application site is outside of the landscape designation by being raised above the quarry floor compared to the yard, any new development here needs to be carefully considered to ensure that it would be overly prominent when
viewed from the hillside public rights of way
 

Nevertheless, given the type of business that operates here with the large extensive yard and that external lighting is also likely to already exist between the cliff edge and the application site, the introduction of small office building would not result in detrimental views from the woodland. Moreover by proposing to use dark
coloured materials for the external walling and a flat roof, this would ensure that the new office building and extended car parking area would only have a very limited impact on the intrinsic natural beauty of the this part of the AONB.

Unlike the earlier PREAPP scheme that was for a three-storey building in this location, this current proposal is now for a modest single storey flat roof structure. Nevertheless as the lime batching plant is to be removed, this will mean that this end of the raised bank would now be more visible at this end of the site, but given
the low height of the proposed office block and the use of dark recessive external materials, it is not considered that this proposal would result in the building causing a harmful visual impact to either the woodland to the north some 90m away nor would it be very visible from the main road either; even if the current screening ash trees were to thin out. This is because there is a concern about the current
established landscaping to the south of the site.
 

Concerns have been raised by the Council’s Tree Officer that because of this disease, these trees are liable to die back in future years and will need to be felled. This in turn would open up the site to views from the highway and also from more distance views to the south east and this in turn would be likely to create a much
more open site when viewed from the south. As a result, new tree planting and landscaping conditions will be required as part of any permission to mitigate for the anticipated tree loss.

Policy CS6 of the Core Strategy and Policy MD2 of SAMDev indicates that development should safeguard the residential and local amenity. There are no residential properties near the application site as the nearest
dwelling, No 34 Stretton Westwood over 224m away to the southwest. In addition, as the proposal is only for a single storey block, any office lighting would be mostly obscured by the tree screen along the highway, however external lighting will need to be considered carefully, so as not to floodlight the building against the backdrop of the SSSI.

 

Under section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, all planning applications must be determined in accordance with the adopted development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Proposed development that accords with an up-to-date Local Plan should be approved, and
proposed development that conflicts should be refused, unless other material considerations indicate otherwise.  The Council concluded that the application did indeed comply with thids and a formal approval was issued in November 2020 and as of December 2020 we are assisting the applicant in discharging planning conditions,

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Timeline of the Development

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Erection of single-storey office building and associated parking area

Grange Fencing Limited Coates Works Stretton Westwood Much Wenlock Shropshire TF13 6DD

Ref. No: 20/02367/FUL | Validated: Thu 18 Jun 2020 | Status: Granted

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Variation of Condition no.2 (approved plans) pursuant of 20/02367/FUL to allow for increase in size of approved building

Grange Fencing Limited Coates Works Stretton Westwood Much Wenlock Shropshire TF13 6DD

Ref. No: 20/04960/VAR | Validated: Fri 27 Nov 2020 | Status: Granted

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Variation of Condition No.2 (approved plans) attached to planning permissions 20/02367/FUL dated 10/11/2020 and 20/04960/VAR dated 28/01/21 to allow for increase in size of approved building

Grange Fencing Limited Coates Works Stretton Westwood Much Wenlock Shropshire TF13 6DD

Ref. No: 21/03295/VAR | Validated: Mon 05 Jul 2021 | Status: Granted

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The Building Regulations Phase

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En-Plan worked in partnership with structural engineerds in order to gain approva;l for a full plans building regualtions application which was approved by Apporved Inpsectors from Shrewsbnury.

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If you would like to find out more about how our Planning Consultancy and Architectural Design Services can work in perfect sync to achieve a successful outcome in the planning system please CONTACT US and we will be only too happy to talk through any questions or development proposals you may have.

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