SLR secures planning consent on behalf of BuildFifty5 for affordable retirement apartments

SLR has been offering planning services on behalf of BuildFifty5 on several of their sites, including a Site at ‘Duce Drive’, a former public house in Dawley, Telford, which achieved planning consent on 10th January 2023 for 39 affordable retirement apartments. SLR is pleased to have secured delegated approval within 10 weeks of the application being validated.

BuildFifty5 are a leading Project Management and Construction Company who to deliver assisted living, specialist care and retirement accommodation. Delivering specialist accommodation is very much at the heart of Build Fifty5’s core objective; rethinking the approach to building affordable and quality homes, supporting communities for all, and helping to deliver the local housing needs for the local authority. 

Demand for older persons’ retirement properties is high across Telford and Wrekin, with projections indicating a 40% increase in the number of older people in the borough by 2031. Operating as developer for the scheme, Buildfifty5 identified a redundant site in the heart of Dawley, and approached SLR to project manage and lead the planning consultancy services.

This project is a strong example of overcoming planning challenges that have previously made the site undeliverable, being vacant for circa. 14 years, following the public house’s closure. Additionally, the site was subject to two previously approved care home schemes which were not delivered as a result of the physical challenges, including – the site’s topography, the geological constraints, a 200-year old retaining wall that supports the site, and arboriculture considerations, which involved the design of the scheme to consider a centrally located sycamore Tree which was subject to a TPO. SLR, Buildfifty5 and their wider technical team worked with pragmatism to overcome these technical challenges.

The development proposals for the site in Dawley, Telford will deliver 39 self-contained retirement apartments which will be 100% affordable, all at social rent. The development site is located approximately one minute’s walk from Dawley high street and currently comprises brownfield land, unmanaged trees, and unimproved grassland. As such, the proposals provide huge benefits to the Council, the local community, and to the surrounding environment by:

• Regenerating a redundant brownfield site within a prominent and sustainable position in Dawley;
• Provision of 100% affordable housing for social rent which will contribute to the Council’s housing supply and address a growing need within the borough;
• Provision of specialist retirement accommodation, with high-quality onsite support;
• Contributing to the local economy and functioning of the local town;
• Landscape management opportunities,
• Securing a long-term viable use for the site.

The deliverability of the scheme along with its high-quality design and layout was also established through cooperation with the end-user.

Phoebe Threlfall, Associate Planner at SLR, who managed the planning application, commented:

‘SLR was delighted to support this project which will bring a derelict site back into a viable use and provide much-needed retirement housing for Telford and Wrekin District, allowing residents to live independently, securely, and sustainably. The design principles focused on resident well-being and safety and on enhancing and respecting the surrounding environment and street scene. We look forward to helping Build Fifty5 discharge their planning conditions and seeing the completion of this valuable scheme.’

Kieran Danby, director of Telford-based BuildFifty5 Living also commented: “We dare to be different in our approach to sourcing and securing sites and transforming them in places which we know will benefit local towns and villages. We are supported by many consultants across the construction industry who recognise our unique methodology and desire to be innovative.”