Telford retirement village's homes fight ramps up

They were speaking as MEP Jill Seymour visited Breton Park in Muxton to lend her support and urge local authorities and developers to come up with a compromise.

People living at the site are concerned that the four fields surrounding their homes have been included in a Telford & Wrekin Council document that suggests sites which would be suitable to build houses on.

The suggested sites concerning residents at the retirement village are Donnington Farm, land off Wellington Road, Donnington and two sites north of the A518 at Donnington. Sites off New Trench Road and Station Road are also being targeted and the document suggests 2,658 homes could be built across the sites – which would double the size of Muxton.

Resident Ron Felton, 70, who has lived at the park for almost two years, said: "We are very pleased to have Jill on our side and what she is proposing seems sensible to us. We believe that we should all get round the table and discuss it and see if we can come up with a compromise.

"Our campaign now is really gathering momentum. As we told Telford & Wrekin Council leader Kuldip Sahota, we are not going away, we are going to fight this.

"We are looking for a compromise. We know houses are going to be built but there is a way of doing it."

He said politicians from the Labour and Conservative parties had visited campaigners earlier this year, but "we have not received any further information" from them.

Mrs Seymour, who is UKIP's prospective Parliamentary candidate for The Wrekin, said: "Many people, from politicians to planners, have visited the residents to listen to their views over recent months, but nothing has then happened.

"The time has come to take things to the next level. Formal talks need to be arranged, bringing together all interested parties – and ensuring that Breton Park residents are consulted."

and involved every step of the way. I will do everything in my power to try to apply the pressure needed to make this happen."