Traveller site application withdrawn – but council says it will draw up fresh proposal

Shropshire Council lodged the proposals for the site in February, describing it as a “transit” site where travellers would be allowed to pitch up for short periods of up to three weeks at a time.

The authority said it hoped to have the site up and running within a year, but has now withdrawn the application.

However, a council spokesperson confirmed the scheme had not been dropped, and said a new application would be lodged once additional work had been completed.

They said: “Additional site surveys have been requested and the application was withdrawn to allow these to be undertaken.

“Once these are completed the application will be resubmitted.”

Concerns had been raised about the application by the council’s own landscape, ecology, highways and archaeology departments.

Rupert Dugdale, a landscape architect from the council’s landscape consultancy firm ESP, said: “The proposed development has the potential to create adverse effects on landscape character, landscape elements and visual amenity, however no information has been provided on likely receptors and the effects that maybe predicted on them.

“The inclusion of reference to the landscape and visual impact assessment in the environmental assessment for the North West Relief Road is not of relevance.

“It is therefore considered that, at present, the development does not accord with Local Plan policy on landscape and visual matters.”

Council planning ecologist Sophie Milburn advised that the application should be accompanied by an ecological impact assessment, and an assessment of whether badgers are present on the site, with a mitigation strategy to be prepared if they are found.

Highways officers said clarification was needed on whether the access to the site off Battlefield Link Road would be altered.

They said: “The indicative block plan suggest that the current access bellmouth would be altered, however the application form indicates that no alterations to the existing vehicle access are proposed.”

They added: “A concern of the development relates to the movement of pedestrians/cyclists across the link road having regard to the speed of traffic.

“The pedestrian movements across the link road need to be fully considered and the safety aspects assessed.”

Archaeology officers said a heritage impact assessment should be carried out, assessing the scheme’s possible impact on the setting of the nearby registered battlefield and any other heritage assets within a one kilometre radius, as well as the archaeological potential of the site itself.

The battlefield, which was the site of the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, lies 400m away from the application site.

The application also attracted three objection comments from members of the public, while Shrewsbury Town Council remained neutral.

The site is owned by Shropshire Council, which said the new transit site would help ease the problems associated with unauthorised encampments in and around Shrewsbury.

When the application was lodged earlier this year, the council said: “There’s a need for a safe place for gypsy and traveller families to stay whilst passing through the county.

“The site will also resolve a short-term problem for gypsy and traveller families who are due to move onto the council’s owned and managed sites.”