Housing firm accused of being 'misleading and unethical' over comment generator to garner support for 114-home development on edge of Shrewsbury

A housing developer has been accused of being “misleading and unethical” after setting up an automated form to generate support for a 114-home development on the edge of Shrewsbury.

Redrow Homes wants to build on land west of Lyth Hill Road in Bayston Hill, however residents are concerned about the loss of green space, extra strain on schools and doctors and the development’s proximity to the “dangerous” A49.

The firm has its own website for the Bayston Hill housing estate plans, which includes a slick and quick Shropshire Council planning portal comment generator, which is much more user friendly than the council’s own system for collecting comments.

It asks people for a few personal details and gives multiple choice options as to why they support the proposal, including “it would help meet housing need in Shropshire” and “I would be interested in living there”. Then, with a click of a button, the comment gets sent through.

The system has generated several duplicate responses in support of the plans.

In response, many people who do not support the plans have lodged copied and pasted comments objecting to the plans.