Fresh twist in Shrewsbury Lidl saga

The supermarket wants to build on land owned by Shrewsbury Town Football Club at its Greenhous Meadow stadium, but the land is designated for community use, despite never having served that purpose.

For the development to go ahead, three separate planning applications must be approved - the construction of Lidl, moving a section 106 agreement to the current first-team training pitch, and for the management of the community pitch to be transferred to Shrewsbury Town in the Community.

The club has applied to Shropshire Council for the changes to the section 106 agreement, but a decision has been deferrede.

Today, despite planning permission having already been granted for the supermarket's construction, Sport England has maintained its objection, saying nothing has mitigated for the loss of playing field space in the proposals.

In an email to planners, James Morris, planning manager for Sport England, said the club's statement of the main stadium pitch being used for community use is subjective as it does not afford regular community use of the pitch.

He said: "Sport England maintain their objection to this application as we are still unable to assess the suitability of the proposed mitigation from the information submitted.

"If a 3G pitch is being proposed as mitigation, evidence is required to support the need/demand in this location to ensure that the facility is sustainable.

"We would need to see the full detailed business plan from Shrewsbury Town in the Community to assess the long term sustainability of the pitch. The usage plan is very generic and only indicates available slots with no potential club or community users noted.

"Furthermore, it is not clear how the 3G pitch will be funded in its entirety; the level of funding from the applicant and other sources is not clear.

"If the Section 106 does not cover the entire cost of the 3G pitch, how will the shortfall in funding be met? The absence of a clear strategic need for a 3G pitch in this location will restrict potential funding from Sport England.

"Changing facilities will also be required and it is not clear how these will be funded.

"Without the type of information listed above Sport England are unable to assess whether or not the 3G pitch is sustainable and deliverable or whether the applicant's financial contribution is an acceptable form of mitigation."

A final decision on the application will be made by Shropshire Council's central planning committee.