The Shropshire Star reports; Telford & Wrekin Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) have put forward the application to build on more than 50 acres of green land in Hortonwood.
The site is near Queensway Hadley Learning Community (HLC), a school for children with special needs. The application is asking for permission in principle to build up to 11 units, which could be a mix of industrial, offices, retail, restaurant and takeaways.
It is also asking for full planning permission to implement the first phase of the scheme – building two big warehouses and office accommodation.
A report submitted with the application says: “It is important that housing growth is balanced by the provision of new employment opportunities to minimise the amount of out-commuting to jobs elsewhere.
“This will be achieved by ensuring sufficient employment land is allocated to attract new businesses and to accommodate growing local businesses.
“If attractive, readily available sites are not provided, investment will go elsewhere with potential loss of jobs to the Telford area.
“The land at Hortonwood could accommodate up to 60,000 square metres of industrial or warehousing development and this could create up to 1,000 jobs.
“The objective is to focus investment in bringing forward employment areas to build on Telford’s strengths in advanced manufacturing including automotive, aerospace and defence, plastics, and engineering to attract and retain growing businesses in these sectors.
“The land at Hortonwood has the significant advantage of being a high quality site large enough to accommodate major businesses.
“Sites on this scale offer significant investment, jobs, skills and training opportunities for local people.”
A decision on the planning application is expected to be made in the New Year.
