Telford rental homes plans passed amid opposition

The former Ketley Bank Board School was occupied by Abacus Day Nursery until 2019

A plan to convert a former Shropshire school into rental properties has been approved amid opposition.

Telford & Wrekin Council granted permission for a 28-home development on the site of the former Ketley Bank Board School on Main Road, Ketley Bank.

Residents had argued increased traffic would make the road unsafe and called for the site to become allotments.

But the council said the development would have an "insignificant impact" on the highway network.

The former school is to be turned into seven new affordable private rental properties, with an additional 21 new two and three-bedroom homes.

The council received 29 objections in response to consultation on the plans, with the safety of Main Road a primary issue.

Residents argued Main Road was "a rat run with speed issues" where existing speed limits were not respected.

Others said the land and building should be gifted to the community.

Telford & Wrekin Council's planning officer wrote in a report there was no "technical objection from the local highway authority".

Applicant Nuplace Ltd said the vacant Victorian building had been in a state of neglect since it ceased operating as Abacus Day Nursery in 2019.

Rooms available for community use when the site was a nursery were not used "due to their age, condition and size being inadequate", added the applicant in a planning statement.