Housing trust shows Gobowen coal yard homes plan to public

A consultation session was hosted by Wrekin Housing Trust at the library in Gobowen yesterday.

The plans will allow proposals to re-establish a rail connection from the village to Oswestry as well as a new cycle route.

Representatives from the housing trust, as well as the Cambrian Heritage Railways organisation, which is working to re-establish the rail line, attended the consultation.

Steve Swann, from the housing trust, said members of the public who had attended the session seemed pleased with what they saw.

He said: "We had people coming in to see what was being proposed and I think they generally were quite happy with it.

"They were particularly interested in the plans for the railway. They had a lot of questions about the railway plans. We are working with the railway group on the plans.

"People seem happy to see the type of housing we are providing and the mix of housing which is being planned.

"From the feedback we have had from planners we have been told if the consultation goes well we can move to putting in an application."

Mr Swann said the building project would likely take up to a year to complete.

It would see 22 affordable homes built on the former coal yard, which sits next to Gobowen Railway Station if permission is given by Shropshire Council.

The plans would see six bungalows, eight one-bedroom flats, five two-bed homes and three three-bed houses.

The housing trust said they will meet a variety of housing needs and they will all be developed for affordable rent.

The homes will be made available to local people through Shropshire Council's Homepoint system.

Members of Cambrian Heritage Railways have been working to reopen the railway from Gobowen, which has a rail station on the national network, to Oswestry.

The rail group has backed the housing proposal, saying they would fit in with the railway plans and allow a new platform to be built at the station.