Shropshire Councillors pledge to oppose 'damaging scale' of housing in local plan
A cohort of councillors have banded together to fight a "damaging scale" of housing in and around a Shropshire town.
Representatives of Bridgnorth, Much Wenlock and surrounding parishes said they were given "no reassurance whatsoever" that their concerns surrounding the local plan were heard at a recent Shropshire Council cabinet meeting.
The group said they were instead met with a "dismissive attitude" when discussing the plan, which sets out where housing and business land can be built up until 2038.
Concern at the meeting, which was called to approve the proposals, centred on the Tasley Garden Village project, which aims to bring at least 1,050 houses and 16 hectares of employment land to a site west of Bridgnorth.
Councillors Christian Lea and William Parr, who represent Bridgnorth East & Astley Abbotts on Shropshire Council, and councillors Les Winwood and Elliott Lynch, who represent Bridgnorth West & Tasley, highlighted issues the influx of vehicles would have on the road network, as well as the longevity of the livestock market.
Their worries were echoed and expanded by Much Wenlock representative David Turner, Worfield representative Michael Wood, Brown Clee representative Robert Tindall and Tina Woodward, who represents Alveley & Claverley.
All eight councillors pledged to oppose the local plan when it goes before Shropshire Council for approval in March 2021.
A joint statement issued by the group said: "On behalf of the eight local Shropshire Councillors who oppose the Tasley Garden Village scheme and the proposed increase in new housing development in and around Much Wenlock, we write to express our collective dismay at the way in which our questions to cabinet held on Monday morning were dealt.
"We were given no reassurance whatsoever that our concerns would be considered further and given no comfort to our ongoing worries about the impact on the local road system. Indeed there was not even a follow up debate by members of cabinet.
"This dismissive attitude to our anxieties is in marked contrast to the cabinet’s decision to remove two other housing proposals – in Church Stretton and Oswestry – from the revision to the local plan.
"We can only wonder why Bridgnorth and the Much Wenlock area appear to be targeted for an unwanted and damaging scale of housing growth in contrast to other parts of Shropshire."
Following the cabinet meeting on Monday, a final seven-week consultation has begun on the local plan before it is sent to the planning inspectorate.
