Controversial plans for nine new homes could be approved by councillors at a meeting next week.

The application for nine detached houses in Baswich will go before Stafford Borough Council's planning committee on Wednesday (22 April), with the council's planning professionals saying it should be approved.

If approved, the scheme would see five three-bedroom and four two-bedroom homes built on the junction between Baswich Lane and Cornwall Drive.

Planners at Stafford Borough Council have recommended planning permission be granted for the development.

A report due to be discussed by next week's planning committee said as the site is "enveloped by existing residential development to the south, east and west and the main West Coast Railway Line to the north" it would "not be at odds with the prevailing and underlying character of the area".

Each property would have its own parking facilities and "there is also an hourly bus service to the centre of Stafford/Lichfield from nearby bus stops".

The report also states that the houses would be "located in a highly sustainable location in terms of accessibility, with a range of services and facilities within a reasonable walking distance i.e. supermarket, pharmacy, doctors' surgery, primary school and shops all around 1km from the site."

However, the application has been called to the planning committee by Cllr Marnie Phillips for the following reasons: "Inadequate infrastructure and impact on local amenities – oversubscribed doctors' surgeries, lack of school places, busy road with a lack of crossing points, lack of adequate public transport, impact on highway safety, out of keeping with the character and appearance of the area/street scene".

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Many of the over 50 objections raised mirrored the issues raised by Cllr Phillips.

There were also concerns about noise and vibrations from the nearby railway causing disruption for future residents and traffic congestion. 

It has been noted in the report that as the site would only consist of nine homes "the potential increase in vehicle movements would be modest and is unlikely to have a significant impact on the transport network in terms of capacity and congestion."

The proposal did receive some positive feedback including that the development would help to solve the national housing shortage and would utilise an underused area of the town.

Click here to see the full council report.

Header image via Roger D Kidd on Geograph