Town green will soon be opened

Oswestry's controversial new £170,000 town green could be open to the public by the end of this month.

Final work is being carried out on the five acre site on Gobowen Road, which was initially going to house Oswestry's £30 million health village.

Health bosses had to change their plans after campaigners won a battle to have the derelict land registered as a town green.

The health village is now being developed at former railway sheds nearby while Oswestry's town green development is entering its final stages.

Shaun Burkey, conservation and community officer with Shropshire Council, said the new town green could be open for use by the public in a matter of weeks.

He said: "It all depends on the weather but it could be open by the end of May or start of June.

"We have still some planting to do and turf to be laid and we don't want to let people on to the site until the plants and turf are well established in case they accidentally get damaged.

"Our contractors have done a great job bearing in mind the time constraints they were under."

Information on the project will be given at an exhibition organised by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust on green spaces in Oswestry this weekend.

The exhibition will be held at the former Oswestry railway station today from 10am to 3pm.