Shropshire Council accused of 'asset-stripping' by selling off former Bridgnorth HQ

The fate of Bridgnorth's Westgate council offices will be decided at a meeting of Shropshire Council's South planning committee on Tuesday.

Shropshire Council itself has applied for planning permission to turn the site into housing land, though there are no details on what kind of housing may be built as yet.

But campaigners will be hoping the committee rules against the controversial move, as the site should be saved for community use or for business, to create more jobs in the town, they say.

Bridgnorth Town Council insists the land should be retained for "generating employment or possibly commercial use such as a hotel."

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people signed a petition set up by Bridgnorth Community Group calling for the building to be turned into a community asset, protecting it from development.

Heritage experts from across the country also backed the appeal, but the bid was rejected by Shropshire Council in November.

Dr Christopher Jephcott of Bridgnorth Civic Society said: "The former Bridgnorth District Council spent a considerable sum in successfully upgrading and improving the building quite recently, and we think that allowing the whole site to be used for housing would be not making best use of the asset.

"The local community should be given the opportunity to nominate the building for inclusion in the list (of assets of community value)."

Objector Kevin Adams added: "Generations of Bridgnorth residents have paid rates and council tax to build this valuable community resource. We're about to lose our police presence, Citizens Advice Bureau and many other vital services.

"These could all have a home at a community run Westgate, which could also be funded by renting out much needed office space, business starter units, maybe even adult education and an arts centre. This could be a vital community hub for the town.

"Enough's enough, we need to stop Bridgnorth being asset stripped by Shirehall."

The decision to sell the Westgate site for demolition and house building was made after a full Shropshire Council vote at the end of last year.

A spokesman for Shropshire Council said other possible uses had not been ruled out completely, as businesses interested in making use of the land were welcome to express interest as the site went on the market - and residential use could include care home buildings, which would employ people in the town.

But, he said: "It is considered that the scale, traditional arrangement and less modern layout of the office floorspace at Westgate would be unlikely to provide suitable premises for a company looking to relocate within the town.

"A range of more suitable employment sites are currently available, and it is on this basis that a residential use of the site is now being proposed."

He said the site would be "sensitively developed and landscaped" to make a "development which blends in with the street scene and visual amenities of this main approach road to Bridgnorth town centre."

The future of the Westgate offices will be debated at Shrewsbury's Shirehall at 2pm on Tuesday, January 13.