Whitchurch dairy site is in line for redevelopment
A leisure centre, retail hub or care home for the elderly could be built on the site of a former dairy in Shropshire, its owners said today.
Ainscough Strategic Land has bought the former Unigate Dairy, in Mile Bank, Whitchurch, and presented plans for 60 homes to Whitchurch Town Council. But Rachael Ainscough, a land buyer at the company, has now revealed that other options are still being explored.
She said: "If it was to be a housing scheme it would be about 60 homes, but we have also been told to look at leisure options or a care facility.
"Other industrial uses are an option too but is unlikely. Tourism is another idea.
"We'll be talking to the town council and consulting with the public before any planning application is submitted."
Miss Ainscough said she hoped to have more idea about what could be built on the 13.3 acre brownfield site over the next month as the company looks at the viability of all the options.
She said she hopes to talk to the town council again at a meeting on March 14 and a planning application could be submitted in the spring.
"What we create at other sites tends to be housing but we also have retail and mixed use developments," she added.
The site in Whitchurch has been redundant since dairy production ceased more than ten years ago. Proposals put forward to the council included a residential development with executive-style homes and affordable housing.
Paul Martin, managing director at Ainscough Strategic Land, said: "Whitchurch has been identified as a town with the potential to grow, and investment in derelict eyesore sites like this one will not only help to fill a housing requirement but will successfully regenerate an area of land which has long been forgotten, adding significant value to the surrounding businesses and residential developments.
"We are very experienced in dealing with difficult sites."
