Plans for 109 new homes in Wrexham formally submitted amid claims of housing shortfall

Plans to build 109 new homes in Wrexham have formally been entered amid claims of a shortfall of housing in the county borough.

A consultation was held by Norris Jones Developments earlier this year over proposals to create a large number of properties on grazing land off Hillock Lane in Gresford.

The exercise went ahead despite Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton calling for the process to be brought to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company has now submitted a planning application to push the scheme through, which shows a slight reduction from its original intentions to create 116 houses on the site near the village’s border with Marford.

Consultants acting on behalf of the firm said the development was necessary to help plug a shortfall of new homes in the area, which is currently without an up-to-date Local Development Plan.

In a planning statement, representatives from Iceni Projects Limited said: “Wrexham Council’s adopted Unitary Development Plan is out of date and the council are subsequently unable to demonstrate a five year housing land supply.

“The council have also suffered a persistent and considerable undersupply of housing in recent years.

“The need to increase the supply of housing land within Wrexham is a significant material consideration that weighs in favour of the development.

“The council have also acknowledged that upon adoption of the emerging Local Development Plan, anticipated later this year, there will be a shortfall of 94 dwellings and that this can only be met by identifying additional land for development.

“The proposal is a realistic opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the council’s housing land supply which has been persistently and considerably lacking in recent years.”

The developers said the plans would deliver a number of other benefits for the community.

They include the provision of “much-needed” affordable housing within the village and improvements to road safety on Hillock Lane and Stancliffe Avenue.

The application will be decided by Wrexham Council at a later date.

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter