Standing room only at planning meeting to discuss development adjacent to Grade I listed Readers House in Ludlow
8:30am Thursday 3rd February 2011
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A PLAN to build five houses in one of the most historic parts of Ludlow Town Centre has been thrown out.
But objectors to the scheme know that whilst they may have won the this particular battle they could still lose the war.
It was standing room only at Ludlow Football Club when the southern planning committee of Shropshire Council reject a proposal from St Laurence Homes for the development in King Street adjacent to
the Grade I listed Readers House and St Laurence Church.
But the applicant still has an option of going ahead with an approval for a similar scheme granted on appeal in 2006.
The rejection of the modified scheme is also being referred to Shropshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee, which could overturn it.
Andrew Sheldon, for the developer, told planners that work had been done to revise the scheme to meet local needs but he warned that his client had the fallback position of going ahead with the
orginal approval and that in any event they are confident of success if it goes to appeal and the council is at risk of having to pay costs.
But John Nash, chairman of Ludlow Civic Society urged planners not to be put off rejecting the scheme for fear of costs and the local community would pick up the tab if necessary.
“The only real access to the development site is via King Street and the front of St Laurence Church,”
said Mr Nash.
“This will cause great disruption to the commercial life of Ludlow and will cause potential danger to pedestrians in the vicinity.”
A town centre resident Joyce Brand told the committee that the new application was being made because the original scheme was unbuildable.
“There has been an avalanche of protest from the people of Ludlow and from people nationally who love this town. The developer has no interest in the town that it plans to vandalise other than to
make money,” said Joyce Brand.
Ludlow’s Mayor John Aitken, said that the scheme had generated criticism not just from people in the town but from all over the country and as far away as Russia.
Councillor Rosanna Taylor-Smith, who represents Ludlow, called on the committee to take account of the strong level of opposition to a scheme that was inappropriate and not of a standard required
for such a historic and sensitive part of the town.
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