The circa 15.7 hectare (ha) site comprises a single agricultural field located northwest of Pulley Lane and north of the A5, to the south of Shrewsbury. The site is bound to the north by Rea Brook and a tree belt that follows this watercourse. North of Rea Brook is an agricultural field which abuts Meole Brace, forming the settlement boundary of Shrewsbury. Immediately east of the site lies further existing residential development of Meole Brace. The southern boundary comprises the A5 dual carriageway. The west of the site tapers following the course of Rea Brook with agricultural fields and the Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway beyond.
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Bloor Homes is preparing an outline planning application for a landscape-led residential development at Pulley Lane, Shrewsbury, including:
- Approximately 200 high-quality homes, including family homes and properties suitable for down-sizers.
- 20% of the new homes will be provided as affordable housing, providing opportunities for those on lower incomes and first-time buyers to secure a home of their own in the Shrewsbury area.
- A gas-free development with all homes built to be net zero carbon-ready, including air source heat pumps, solar panels, uprated insulation and EV charging infrastructure.
- More than half of the site area will be provided as attractively landscaped new public open space in a landscape-led approach to development, with the retention of existing trees and the majority of hedgerows, alongside extensive planting of new trees, a community orchard and areas for biodiversity.
- The open space proposals include the creation of Rea Brook Greenway – a proposed outdoor recreation and biodiversity resource that has the potential to act as an extension of the existing Rea Brook Valley Nature Reserve.
- Play areas for children as well as areas for natural play.
- Vehicular, cycle and pedestrian access directly from Pulley Lane.
- A network of new publicly accessible walking and cycling routes through the landscaped open spaces.
- Connectivity to existing public rights of way providing cycle and pedestrian access to surrounding area.
- A sustainable drainage system (SuDS) to manage surface water and create new habitat areas.
- Multi-million pound investment to support local infrastructure such as healthcare and education.
The site is located outside of the Greenbelt and occupies a highly sustainable location adjacent to the settlement boundary of Shrewsbury. As such, it was submitted via Shropshire Council’s latest Call for Sites and promoted for residential development through the Council’s emerging new Local Plan.
Local planning authorities are required by Government to update their Local Plans every five years. The current adopted Local Plan for Shropshire is the Core Strategy which was adopted in 2011 and has therefore now fallen significantly out of date. Shropshire Council had been preparing a new Local Plan, however this was abandoned in July 2025 following issues arising from the Independent Examination. Following the withdrawal of the previous draft Plan, Shropshire Council is now preparing a new Local Plan for 2025-2045 which will guide future development across the county and includes the location of including new housing and infrastructure.
Changes to the National Planning Policy Framework announced by the Government in late 2024 has nearly doubled the number of homes Shropshire Council will need to deliver from 1,070 to 2,025 homes per year. This has left Shropshire Council with a shortfall in housing land supply.
The NPPF also requires that local authorities such as Shropshire Council are able to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. This is the amount of land that the Council must identify to ensure there are sufficient deliverable sites for residential development over the next five years. Shropshire Council currently cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing land.
In light of the current position on housing, an outline planning application for the site is now being brought forward to contribute to meeting this housing delivery shortfall at a sustainable location adjacent to the existing settlement boundary of Shrewsbury. Existing development exists to the east, therefore making this site a logical extension of the existing settlement. The development proposed by Bloor Homes will support Shropshire’s housing needs while contributing positively to the local community through the provision of extensive high-quality public open space and outdoor recreational facilities, as well as investment to support local infrastructure.
An outline planning application establishes the broad principles of development, such as access arrangements, illustrative concept layout, number of homes and general extent of development.
If outline planning consent is granted, a detailed planning application called a Reserved Matters planning application would be prepared. This would include more detail such as architecture, materials, detailed layout and landscaping, and would be subject to further consultation with the local community before being submitted for determination. Both outline and Reserved Matters planning applications are subject to Statutory Consultation carried out by the Local Planning Authority (Shropshire Council).
Yes, 20% of the new homes would be classified as affordable homes in line with local policy requirements. This will provide opportunities for those on lower incomes with connections to the local area to secure a home of their own. Affordable housing is anticipated to be provided in a mix of affordable rent and shared ownership homes, however this will be determined in consultation with Shropshire Council’s Housing Team.
We know that sustainability is hugely important to communities across the country. The new homes at Pulley Lane will be built to the Future Homes Standard, resulting in a neighbourhood of net zero carbon ready homes.
The development will be gas-free, with all homes provided with air source heat pumps as standard. PV cells (solar panels) will also be incorporated, which along with the use of the latest materials and technique to maximise insulation, air tightness and heat recovery, will create an uplift in energy efficiency of 75-80%. The new homes will incorporate sanitaryware and appliances that meet the highest water efficiency standards.
Electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be provided for all homes with on plot parking, together with access to communal EV charging points for the whole development.
To minimise the impact of construction, we always aim to procure materials from sustainable sources and recycle construction waste as far as is possible.
Existing high value habitats such as hedgerows and mature trees will be retained as much as possible and buffered with additional landscape planting and habitat creation.
Environment Agency flood mapping indicates that the majority of the site lies within Flood Zone 1, representing a low probability of fluvial flooding. A corridor along Rea Brook in the northern part of the site is designated as Flood Zones 2 and 3; however, this area lies outside the proposed extent of built development. Surface water flood mapping shows the site to be predominantly at very low (less than 0.1%) to low (0.1–1%) annual probability of surface water flooding.
A new surface water drainage system will be provided to serve the development. This will comprise a piped network discharging to a number of detention basins located in the lower northern area of the site. The detention basins will provide storage and control surface water discharge to greenfield runoff rates, ensuring there is no increase in flood risk on-site or downstream. They will be designed to accommodate rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100-year storm plus 40% climate change allowance.
In addition to the detention basins, the drainage network will incorporate a range of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) such as swales, filter drains, filter strips, and permeable paving, to promote infiltration and water quality improvements. There will also be scope for the basin to provide biodiversity enhancement through the creation of wetland habitat with appropriate planting.
Foul water from the development will be conveyed via a new foul pumping station and rising main to the existing public sewer network, subject to agreement with Severn Trent Water.
Vehicular access to this development is proposed via Pulley Lane. Pre-application engagement has been undertaken in line with best practice guidance with the Local Highways Authority and National Highways to seek their input on the forthcoming planning application and to ensure all required assessments are undertaken. Full details of the work undertaken will be submitted through the outline planning application for the consideration of the Local Highways Authority and National Highways.
Traffic surveys have been undertaken at junctions on the local road network to help inform a Transport Assessment which will form part of the outline planning application. This study will carry out an assessment of these junctions, known as a “Junction Capacity Assessment”, which models how the junctions perform currently and how they will perform in a future year scenario with the development in place. The methodology and parameters for this assessment have been agreed with the Local Highways Authority and National Highways through pre-application engagement.
Yes. A network of new walking and cycling routes will be created within the development, which will tie into the existing 3m shared walk/cycleway on Pulley Lane. This will provide onward connections to amenities within Meole Brace area and the existing Park and Ride facility that provides a convenient service into the centre of Shrewsbury.
The application will also be supported by a Travel Plan, which will set out measures to encourage residents to use sustainable modes of transport like walking, cycling and public transport.
A key consideration with a planning proposal such as this is to ensure that local services receive the investment they need to accommodate housing growth in the local area. The development will generate investment into local infrastructure such as healthcare and education, and this will be informed by consultation carried out by Shropshire Council with statutory bodies such as the local NHS Integrated Care Board and the local education team. Investment funding will be secured via Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments or appropriate legal agreement between Bloor Homes and the Council.
Bloor Homes is preparing an outline planning application which will be submitted to Shropshire Council. Once the application has been validated and published by the Council, they will undertake Statutory Consultation with a range of organisations such as the NHS Integrated Care Board, local education team, Council housing team, Environment Agency, Natural England, local town and parish councils and others, as well as the general public. Following this process, the Council will determine the planning application. If outline planning consent is granted, this will include planning conditions including a Section 106 Agreement which will set out the infrastructure investment to be generated by the development. A reserved matters planning application will then be prepared and submitted to the council setting out finer details such as housing mix, design, landscape details etc.