The Opportunity
Benthall Grange, Ironbridge has been masterplanned for a new development incorporating a range of housing including a retirement village, employment and leisure uses and associated community facilities.
Atkins were commissioned by Harworth, Shropshire County and Telford and Wrekin Councils to assess the re-opening of the railway line for use by passengers, whilst the opportunity could be feasible it is reliant upon significant capital investment to the track and infrastructure by Network Rail’
Location
The Benthall Grange, Ironbridge site is located in the historic setting of Ironbridge on the Telford and wider Shropshire border in close proximity to the M54 Motorway and wider West Midlands region.
It is on the southern bank of the River Severn approximately one kilometre from Ironbridge village. The boundaries of the eastern part of the site lie immediately adjoining, but excluded from, the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site which is a key visitor attraction.
major development
Benthall Grange forms the largest single redevelopment site in Shropshire. Its 142 hectare located on the border of neighbouring Telford at the heart of Shropshire is in a rural environment with good road and rail connectivity to the Black Country and the wider West Midlands region.
Harworth obtained an outline planning permission with an associated S106 Agreement in September 2022, since then it has been working with the local planning and highway authorities to discharge many of the pre-commencement planning conditions and has obtained approvals for specific packages of enabling works.
Permission
The permission includes plans for 1,000 homes, a retirement village, a new local centre to contain a mix of leisure, commercial, retail and health uses, a primary school, nature corridors, public open space and the re-use of the site’s pump house to support either retail, community or river-based uses.
This site’s masterplan indicates a minimum of 16,000m2 of commercial space alongside 2,200m2 of retail provision
Quick facts
Benthall Grange TF8 7BL
Overall developable land 142 hectares (350 acres)
Planning use Mixed: housing, employment, leisure community uses
Developer Harworth Group plc
Major Local Companies: Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, Steelmart International Ltd, Marnwood Properties Ltd, Valley Hotel Ltd, Merrythought Ltd, Severn Gorge Countryside Trust
Supported by a number of key documents
These explain how the plan has been arrived at, including a detailed Design & Access Statement, a full Transport Assessment and a series of environmental plans including flood risk and ecological assessments.
The application follows eighteen months of detailed consideration, including two public consultations held on-site in 2018 and 2019 which attracted nearly 1,000 people in total, establishing a detailed understanding of the site’s assets and constraints and considering the site’s role in supporting lronbridge’s leisure & tourism offer.
