Sites for 1,200 new north Shropshire homes revealed

Potential development sites for almost 1,200 homes and new employment land across north Shropshire have been revealed.

Under Shropshire Council's development vision to take the county through to 2026, sites have been put forward for 602 new homes in Whitchurch, 330 in Wem and 244 in Ellesmere. Also on the cards are sixteen hectares of new employment land for Whitchurch.

The proposals are set out in Shirehall's Site Allocations and Management of Development Plan, also known as SAMDev.

The Whitchurch plans include a business park off Heath Road. Proposed housing sites in the town include more than 300 homes west of Tilstock Road and 100 on land at Mount Farm.

In Wem, land west of Pyms Road has been earmarked for 300 homes, with 30 planned in Tilley.

In Ellesmere, land at Grange Road is earmarked for 82 homes and land between Swan Hill and the cemetery for 22 homes.

In Shawbury, 15 hectares of employment land have been identified next to Shawbury Industrial Estate and 50 homes earmarked for land at Brickyard Farm in Poynton Road.

In Prees, a further 60 homes are expected at sites off Moreton Street and Shrewsbury Street.

Civic leaders today welcomed the draft proposals and urged residents to have their say during a public consultation period, which ends on June 8.

Councillor Edward Towers, mayor of Wem, said: "These are outline suggestions but we recognise that they can be made better if people add their comments, which they can do on the Shropshire Council website.

"In Wem we have been set a target of 800 homes between 2006 and 2026.

"By last year 350 of these had been built or granted planning permission and now we have been allocated potential sites for 330 more homes.

We've backed this number because we feel it will help the town evolve at a steady rate and the extra employment land could bring job opportunities."

People can comment via Shropshire Council's website and public meetings are being arranged.

Whitchurch has already held its meeting. Dates are to be fixed for Wem and Ellesmere meetings.

In all, Shirehall aims to enable the development of about 16,000 new homes.