Shropshire villagers' outrage over plans for housing on former community field
A bid to build housing on church-owned land near Shrewsbury has sparked outrage with local residents – and led to concerns over the future of a long-running scout group.
Shingler Homes, working as a development partner with the Lichfield Diocese, has submitted the plan for The Glebelands in Bayston Hill, to Shropshire Council.
The diocese-owned land sits to the rear of Christ Church, and is also home to the Bayston Hill Scout and Guide Hut.
The 1.4 hectares of land, although owned by the church, was used for many years as community space, through an agreement which saw it leased to Bayston Hill Parish Council.
The church served notice on that agreement and has taken on Shingler Homes with the intention of building housing on the site.
The access for the new development would be off Glebe Road.
The parish council had maintained the site as part of the agreement – cutting grass, looking after paths, and emptying bins, but revealed in a post on Facebook in May that it had been asked to stop by the diocese.
In an effort to prove its value to the community a group of residents took it upon themselves last week to mow the site – asking people to use it in an effort to prove its importance to the community.
Since the application has been added to Shropshire Council's website there have been a total of 47 objections from local residents – with reasons ranging from the loss of community space to the threat to the local scout group.
Others have highlighted the strain on local health and dental services, and the potential for the situation to be made worse with more housing, as well as pointing out that the land has been used as a landing point for the air ambulance in emergencies.
