Swift action promised to buy back Shrewsbury land at centre of Supreme Court ruling
Swift action has been promised in order to return a piece of Shrewsbury parkland to public ownership, after planning permission for it to be developed for housing was quashed by the Supreme Court.
Shrewsbury Town Council has instructed solicitors to meet urgently with the developers it sold a piece of land at Greenfields Recreation Ground to in 2017, with a view to buying it back.
Councillors said it was a “regret” that the saga had dragged on for so long, but pledged to work with Greenfields Community Group to finally resolve the matter.
At a meeting attended by group representatives, town council leader Alan Mosley confirmed the council was set to appoint solicitors and agree terms of reference later in the meeting, in private session.
Legal representatives would be asked to meet the landowner, CSE Developments, within 10 days, Councillor Mosley said.
The authority last year issued an “unreserved” apology for selling the land, and pledged to investigate how it could buy back the land, but said it would hold off on taking the matter forward until the decision of the Supreme Court, which was handed down earlier this month.
A statement read to councillors by members of the community group said the authority had a “culture of denial” and an “unwillingness to deal with past failures”.
It said: “The Greenfields Community Group has been completely vindicated in its long battle to establish the correct legal status of Greenfields Recreation Ground.
“It is a damning indictment that the very people who profess to love our town, protect its environment and uphold the wishes and wellbeing of its inhabitants, to claim to be or have the title of ‘civic leaders’, were the very people who have fought against us, blocked us, and called us vexatious.”
The group asked for “immediate action to be taken to return this land to public use”.
Councillor Alex Phillips, whose Bagley ward includes the Greenfields area, said: “On one hand, as the local ward member, I am delighted that the Supreme Court found in favour of the residents and that there is now a path towards returning the land to public use.
“It should never have been the case that a community felt it had no option but to go and take its councils through a legal process.
“Errors do happen, but it’s important people own up to them, and it’s a regret that that did not happen in 2018 and it’s taken so long to get here.”
His comments were echoed by Underdale councillor David Vasmer, who said: “I just think it’s a shame that we’ve taken so long to get to this point.
“I hope that we get it resolved as quickly as possible so that the land can be returned for community use and we can move forward.
“I do hope that when we have our next meeting we will see real progress and not just more statements.”
A progress report will be presented at the next meeting of the council’s finance and general purposes committee.
