The proposals include up to 200 new homes, affordable housing and public open space.
As part of designing a high-quality development we are seeking to capture the vision, values and ideas of the community.
We want to work collaboratively and openly with local residents before working up final plans which will be submitted as part of an outline planning application to Shropshire Council later in the process.
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We will update this website on a regular basis as our proposals and our planning application for the site progresses. The website contains information on the proposals, plans and external links to useful sites that we hope you will find informative. You can submit your feedback by using the 'Have your Say' form, or by using any of the other feedback options detailed on this website. |
New Park Farm is a greenfield site situated within the administrative area of Shropshire Council and adjoins the south-eastern boundary of Shifnal.
The site is located immediately east of an existing modern residential area, known locally as the Thomas Beddoes development.
Shifnal is defined as a Key Centre in the settlement hierarchy for the purposes of both the adopted Core Strategy and the Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) (2015) in Shropshire Council’s currently adopted Local Plan.
The Council had been developing a new Local Plan, however, in March 2025, the emerging Local Plan was withdrawn from examination.
The Council is unable to provide a 5-year housing land supply and have a housing shortfall. Data released in July 2025, shows there are 7,222 households on Shropshire Council’s housing waiting list.
This is why this proposal is coming forward now. The site at New Park Farm offers a suitable and sustainable location for new homes, helping to meet the urgent need for both market and affordable housing.
New Homes. Up to 200 new homes with a mix of house sizes and types, ranging from 1 to 5 bed houses to meet local policy requirements and identified need.
Affordable Housing. Minimum 33% affordable housing (i.e. up to 66 affordable homes). Affordable housing is a combination of discounted rent, discounted sale (for first time buyers) and shared ownership housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market
This will assist those looking for their first home, and lower income individuals and families get on the housing ladder in Shifnal.
How people access affordable housing depends on its tenure. Generally, Local Authorities are responsible for allocating affordable housing for rent.
In many instances, they will require that a local connection is demonstrated for someone to be eligible for a home. In some cases, applicants must have lived in the local area for a minimum of two years and these homes may be offered to applicants who can demonstrate family ties to the local area, or to people who previously lived in the area.
Extensive Public Open Space. Significant open space including children’s play areas and walking and cycling routes including connectivity to the National Cycle Route 81 north of the site.
Highways And Access. A Transport Assessment (TA) will be submitted with the planning application, this will detail the development proposals, site accessibility, forecast trip generation and will assess the operation of the highway network in both safety and capacity terms both with and without the development.
In line with the approach for previous phases of development, access will be obtained through extensions to existing roads at Stone Grove and Lloyd Grove.
The wider site ultimately connects to the external road network via two junctions with the A464. The development will also tie in and extend the existing walking infrastructure to create a seamless, coherent network that provides onward connections to Shifnal and Shifnal Railway Station.
The application will also be supported by a Travel Plan, which will set out measures to encourage residents to use sustainable modes of transport like walking, cycling and public transport.
Parking will be designed to meet local standards and to ensure it does not dominate the street scenes, whilst also being convenient for residents and visitors.
Ecology. A Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) has found the site to be made of two arable fields that have not been recently cultivated.
At the centre of the site there is a farmhouse, barn and area used for storing caravans, and to the south-west there is a block of broadleaved woodland. Several ponds are located within the site boundary.
Following the PEA, a range of protected species surveys have been carried out, including for roosting, foraging and dispersing bats, badgers, and great crested newts.
No badgers or great crested newts have been recorded. Common and widespread bat species have been observed using the woodland and hedgerows for foraging and commuting. The on-site buildings have not been found to support roosting bats.
The development will aim to provide a measurable ‘net gain’ in biodiversity.
This includes retention of as much of the existing woodland, ponds, and hedgerows as possible, while also creating new green spaces.
These areas will provide opportunities for many different species, including bats, birds, badgers, reptiles, and invertebrates.
The retained and created habitats will be monitored in the long term after so that they remain healthy and continue to benefit wildlife in the long term.
Woodland Protection. Revell’s Rough woodland will remain and will be provided with additional protective landscaping buffers.
There will also be significant tree planting to create a strong eastern boundary edge to the Green Belt outside of this development area, with the incorporation of a flood defence feature in the form of a bund and ditch, to prevent any flooding from failure of the fishing lake embankments.
The tree belt that runs along Stone Drive will be extended, to enhance ecological corridors and integrate the Site with existing green infrastructure.
Low Carbon Energy Efficient Homes
The final design of the new homes would be submitted at a later date, should outline planning permission be granted and you will be specifically consulted on the details at that time. However, the broad principles are outlined below:
Archaeology And Heritage. There are no designated heritage assets on the site.
Archaeology desk-based assessments suggests there are some limited prehistoric and Roman activity recorded in the vicinity of the site, but there is no evidence to suggest activity of this date within our redline boundary area.
From within the south-western area of the site, there are views towards the Grade I listed Church of St Andrew within Shifnal Conservation Area. Views are limited to the church tower, which is located beyond intervening development, and development would not harm the significance of the Church of St Andrew or Shifnal Conservation Area.
Archaeological work is ongoing and the findings will be reported in the final application pack submission.
Flooding And Drainage. The Environment Agency Flood Map For Planning shows the whole site to be located in Flood Zone 1.
This is land at the lowest risk of fluvial (river) flooding, and the proposed masterplan takes into account surface water (pluvial) overland flow routes, utilising the topography to maintain these and create blue/green corridors for drainage. The risk from surface water flooding across the majority of the site is very low.
The planning application will be accompanied by a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) and Sustainable Drainage Statement (SDS) which will assess the site with respect to all types of flood risk and will propose solutions for managing surface runoff and foul water.
The proposal will use Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to capture, treat and attenuate surface water runoff from the site before discharging into local ditches. Further, SuDS features will be designed to provide significant water quality and amenity benefits within the site as well as serving as a drainage function.
The eastern boundary will also include the incorporation of a flood defence feature in the form of a bund and ditch, to prevent any flooding from failure of the neighbouring fishing lake embankments.
Noise. The site has a good separation from the likely dominant road traffic noise source, which is the A464 to the south. Noise levels from the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury railway will be assessed.
A noise impact assessment will be undertaken to assess the suitability of the site for residential use. Mitigation measures will be utilised to control noise impacts on the new homes including double glazing (with suitable trickle ventilation), appropriate facade construction, stand-off distances and boundary mitigation.
This is an opportunity for you to have your say:
Your feedback will help shape our proposals before we submit our planning application.
Any comments you make in response to these proposals will not affect your right to comment on the planning application submitted to the Local Authority in due course.
Please let us have your feedback by no later than Sunday 16th November 2025.
The site is located on the south-eastern edge of Shifnal, comprising 16.1 acres (6.5 hectares) of agricultural land, including 3.9 acres (1.6 hectares) of mature woodland known as Revells Rough.
The site also includes agricultural buildings and an extensive area of hardstanding used for caravan storage as part of New Park Farm.
The site is bound to the north by the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton railway line; to the east is Lamledge Lane with the carp fishery beyond; to the west is existing residential development.
The edge of Revell’s Rough defines the boundary to the south, with Wolverhampton Road slightly further beyond.
The site is not subject to any statutory or non-statutory wildlife designations and is located within flood zone 1.
The site is within a 15-minute walk of Shifnal town centre, which is well-served in terms of meeting residents’ essential day-to-day needs, including a bus service and a train station, providing connections to nearby towns.
Planning ApplicationWe will be submitting an outline planning application with all matters reserved (excluding access). Outline planning applications seek to establish whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable to the Local Planning Authority, before a fully detailed proposal is put forward. Where outline permission has been granted, and within three years of the outline approval, an application for the outstanding reserved matters can be submitted, i.e. the information excluded from the initial outline planning application. This will typically include information about the layout, scale and appearance of the development. Statutory consultees (eg. Environment Agency, Highways England, Natural England and Parish Councils) and local residents will also have the opportunity to formally comment on the applications once they are submitted and registered with the Local Authority. |
The economic benefits of new housing development are significant. A study by the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) demonstrates that construction projects have a significant benefit on the local and wider economy. The report concludes that for every £1 of construction expenditure, £2.84 is injected into the economy.
New development will be key to aiding economic recovery at both a local and national level following the Covid pandemic. The proposed development of new homes, offers the opportunity to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, assist in meeting local housing need and add to the Local Authority’s revenue, as a result of an increase in Council Tax revenue stream and the New Homes Bonus.
The delivery of new homes and the introduction of new residents will also help support existing local businesses, services and groups as can be seen in the diagram below:
Head Office: Orchard House, Papple Close,
Houlton, Rugby, CV23 1EW
South East Office: The Grosvenor,
Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4HG
Keep up to date with all the latest information from Catesby Estates and our strategic land promotion work.
