A PLANNING application for 12 apartments on land west of Morda Mill in Morda has been rejected by Shropshire Council.

The development proposed was a three-storey block of 12 two-bedroom apartments, with associated car parking.

A large part of the proposal was centred around Shropshire Council’s ‘core strategies’, most notably the enhancement of towns and villages to provide facilities and services to rural hinterlands.

But the proposal has been rejected as it is considered to be in conflict with those core strategies.

Planning officer Mark Barrow said in a report: “As the development proposes new open market housing in an area identified as open countryside for planning purposes it does not comply with the restricted permissible developments supported in the policies.

“As a result of its open countryside location, the development would fail to protect and maintain the vitality and character of the countryside, and would result in an unacceptable level of encroachment into that countryside.”