Park village green bid fails

Volunteers who help to look after Telford Town Park have lost their bid to get its arena officially declared a village green.

Legal experts say the Friends of Telford Town Park need to come up with more concrete information on the use of the site. The arena, a grassy bowl near the town's ice rink, was within the original boundary of the park, but is now being eyed up as a potential development site by Telford & Wrekin Council.

Campaigners say the arena should be protected as the town's only suitable open-air space for everything from dog shows to concerts.

The Friends - a voluntary watchdog organisation - submitted an application to Telford & Wrekin Council for the arena to be given village green status.

Chris Pettman, group chairman, said: "Our bid has been rejected by the council's legal department because more information is needed.

"But we have not given up. It looks like we may have to do a census about the number of people using the arena.

"Telford has vast amounts of brownfield land ripe for development and it would be absolutely pointless to take away the arena, the only space of its kind in the town.

"We believe much more use could be made of the arena.

"It would be perfect for open-air car shows, a steam fair illustrating Telford's industrial past or an air show with the help of the RAF and Air Training Corps.

"Greater use of the arena would not just be good for the people of Telford but it would also help the borough economy as it would attract people from outside."

Mr Pettman, a retired printing equipment salesman, stressed his group was completely independent of Telford & Wrekin Council, although it did meet on council property and council officials attended its meetings.

"We are no more in the pocket of the council than the Friends of the Princess Royal Hospital are in the pocket of the NHS," he said.

Mr Pettman said he hoped the new Tory leadership of the council would ultimately decide to put the arena back within the park boundary to protect it for future generations.

He said he also welcomed the recent declaration by the Hark Group and US-based Apollo Real Estate Advisors, new owners of Telford Shopping Centre, that they would not touch the park - other than improving the entrance from Southwater square - in their £1 billion regeneration plan.

Anyone keen to take part in the Friends' activities is invited to its next meeting, on Wednesday at 6.30pm, at Spout Farm House in the park.

Mr Pettman said: "We will have a debrief on a recent fun run and are due to discuss a few more things we would like to do in the park."