A proposed residential development is causing considerable discussion due to its apparently phallic form – and that’s far from its only issue.
Critics of a suggested 250-home project in Telford argue that it is huge for the current local infrastructure, leading some to predict it will be a ‘failure’.
However, it’s not merely the intricacies of planning permissions and community feedback that capture public attention.
Rather, it is the layout featured in the development’s conceptual designs, which flares out at the base and bends in a way that some perceive as resembling the outline of male genitalia.
One resident commented: ‘It’s unbelievable that nobody examined that [design] and laughed because we’re all aware of it.’
Another resident, Antony Iles, stated that the shape is ‘as ridiculous as the proposals themselves’.
This situation has even prompted some residents to initiate a t-shirt campaign branding it a ‘glop’.
Telford and Wrekin Council, which has referred to it as a crucial component of efforts to increase housing availability under a deal established in 2015, will evaluate responses with an autumn deadline approaching for outline planning permission.
Opposition to the combination of two, three, and four bedroom residences, including some affordable options, primarily centres on the expected repercussions for local infrastructure, especially regarding road safety.
If approved, the development will offer 635 private and 97 on-street parking options, as well as parking facilities close to a nearby junction.
A pathway for cyclists and pedestrians will also be incorporated.
Mr Iles, whose house overlooks the proposed site and is home to himself, his wife, and two daughters, stated: ‘Given that the upper section of Pepper Mill is likely to become quite congested, residents will use this as a shortcut to access the estate.
‘My daughters frequently ride their bikes along this road. It isn’t a main thoroughfare; it’s a brick-paved road not designed for heavy traffic.’
For Mr Iles, traffic is not the sole concern; he expressed: ‘There’s only one medical practice, one dental service… I’ve lived here for a decade and struggle to book an appointment at the dentist in Lawley.
‘We have a primary school in the area that is already over-crowded, and although they built a new primary institution across the street, I understand that it’s also reached capacity.’
