Calls for fences to come down at Shrewsbury park land after housing plan quashed for good

Greenfields Community Group was handed a landmark victory when five Law Lords unanimously quashed planning permission for 15 luxury homes on the Shrewsbury recreation ground.

Shrewsbury Town Council had sold the plot of land to CSE Developments in 2017 despite it being covered by a trust saying it must be kept as a recreation ground. They had not followed the correct procedures to do that.

Then Shropshire Council gave planning permission for houses to be built there. The county authority is awaiting a ruling on costs following Wednesday's historic judgment.

Dr Peter Day, who chairs Greenfields Community Group and spearheaded a remarkable citizen's victory against council intransigence, said: "GCG have written to the developer and requested that the fences are removed from the Recreation Ground as soon as possible.

"The ruling of the court was that public rights under the statutory trust are not extinguished; can be enforced and are not dormant.

"GCG have additionally requested that any changes are put back and the land is made safe for public use."

In statements to the press on Thursday councils at the centre of the row were considering their positions.

Shrewsbury Town Council, in a statement said: "We must now take some time to more fully understand the ruling and its implications.

"We will also seek to meet with Shropshire Council, the developer and, of course the Greenfields Community, whilst looking at ways of engaging with the wider Shrewsbury community to ascertain their views.”

Shropshire Council said it "will study the judgement carefully, in particular what this now means for the planning application which becomes undetermined when the quashing order is made".

Dr Day, a 58 year-old semi-retired academic from Falstaff Street, reacted to Shropshire Council's claims it "no option" but to fight the case to support a decision to grant planning permission.

"We wanted mediation and we repeatedly offered it to them but they wanted to press ahead," he said. Five law lords sided with the residents, saying it sent a message to councils across the country that they could not simply take away recreational land.

"It is as if they wanted Shrewsbury to become known as the place where they took park land away from people, and let other councils do the same thing."

Dr Day, who is married with a nine-year-old daughter, was told by his barristers that the case was the first one on public parks to be decided by the Supreme Court in 100 years. It also marks a precedent that other community groups can use to construct their cases against cloth-eared councils.

Although he admits "if I had known what the process was at the beginning I might have given up." He believes some in authority have the attitude that people will give up if the challenge against them is seen as too tough.

Greenfields Community Group raised £60,000 to fight against Shropshire Council to get the planning permission quashed. The Good Law Project support brought it up to more like £100,000.

"Our barristers advised us not to think of the bigger total but to take it step by step.We are grateful for every donation. They included a lady who said she could not afford her heating but left us £100 and just walked out of the meeting. People were giving us money."

Dr Day, a no-nonsense Yorkshireman who has lived in Shrewsbury for 14 years said until the fundraising started his own house was at risk as a guarantee.

It was raised by charity events including a walk up Snowdon, music nights and even a drag act called Miss Shape at Greenfields Bowling Club.

"The councils kept on saying that the land was not part of the park but we had the Land Registry documents that said it was. We kept on wondering that they must have something else but we realised that they did not.

"We offered mediation and there was even a meeting about revoking the planning permission but they made it clear they didn't want to do that. They were going to take it to the Supreme Court."

Dr Day said the community group is now asking the council and the developer to remove the fence that separates the disputed land from the rest of Greenfields Recreation Ground.

"Then the hard work will really start with engaging the community with what they want to do with the land."