KFC, tanning salon and care home plans green light at old Shrewsbury pitch and putt course
Plans for a KFC, tanning salon and care home at an old pitch and putt golf course have been given the green light despite concerns over traffic and loss of green space.
A decision on the Shrewsbury proposal at the former golf facility off Oteley Road, which would also include a Starbucks and a gym, had been deferred at a Shropshire Council northern planning committee meeting in May over a number of issues.
But case officer Kelvin Hall said concerns have been addressed over traffic, the loss of sports facilities and open space, and recommended that councillors gave plans the go-ahead. His report said the development would create up to 80 jobs.
Six committee members voted in favour, two voted against the proposals and two abstained, so permission was granted.
Shropshire Playing Fields Association chairman David Kilby reiterated concerns he made on the planning portal about how obesity levels in Shropshire are at 67 per cent, and getting rid of sports facilities and replacing them with a development including a fast food restaurant goes against bringing that figure down.
He also suggested a pitch and putt golfing business could be viable on the site if "footgolf" and refresher lessons were explored.
Mr Hall's report stated: "The pitch and putt site closed in 2019. The reason for this was that since 2011 there was a steady decrease in the number of people using the facility, from a peak of 2,590 down to 1,590 in 2015.
Councillor Bernie Bentick, who represents the neighbouring Meole ward, agreed with Mr Kilby's point about KFC, saying we should be "trying to improve the health of people in Shropshire by reducing restaurants with poor nutritional value". He added: "The care home is not required," insisting there is no shortage of beds for the elderly population.
Councillor Roy Aldcroft offered and alternative view, insisting from his NHS sources that a new care home is needed in the area.
The development falls within the Bayston Hill, Column and Sutton council ward, and one of the area's councillors, Ted Clarke, raised concerns over more traffic piling up at the notoriously busy Meole Brace island.
"I've very disappointed that the impact of the entrance and exit of both sites has not really been considered at all in relation to Meole Brace island," he said. "It is massively overcrowded at peak times."
