'Stand up and shout': Fight to stop Bridgnorth shops still goes on
Residents are being advised to "stand up and shout" to prevent shops being built on a Bridgnorth town centre car park.
Controversial plans to build on a the Old Smithfield car park were given the green light in June.
Stephen Robbins, of Bridgnorth Chamber of Commerce, said the new development will be highly detrimental to the local high street traders.
And he insisted the fight goes on to stop the development, despite it receiving permission.
He added: "It is estimated that £2 million will be taken away from the High Street. That's a lot of money to traders who are already struggling as it is.
"Bridgnorth has already seen five shops close in the past six months. Retailers are struggling, no doubt about that.
"If the applicants have estimated this amount, I think we can be confident that this will be the case, if not worse."
The Chamber of Commerce claims the development would damage the character of the town and have an adverse impact on parking, especially on weekends.
Government Housing Secretary, James Brokenshire, dismissed the above fears, allowing plans, by Ziran Land Ltd, to be approved.
According to Mr Robbins, the car park is protected by a parking management agreement, which was initiated by Bridgnorth District Council.
Petition
He says the agreement protects the site as a car park for 80 years and so far the car park has only been there for 10 years.
Despite more than 6,800 people signing a petition started by Bridgnorth’s Chamber of Commerce to halt the development, further objections seemed to have ceased in recent months.
"The chamber is still fighting this," said Mr Robbins.
"People need to be getting on to their local councillors, they need to stand up and shout.
"One councillor has been ignoring us after eight weeks worth of emails. They're keeping quiet and councillors are the exact people who should be making things happen at Shropshire Council, in order to benefit Bridgnorth.
"People need to be contacting their elective representatives and saying we don't want this, there are things that need to be done."
A spokesman from Ziran Land Ltd said more information regarding future plans and construction will be released in the coming weeks.
