Broxit a step closer as Broseley council votes to explore jumping border

The town council is to commission a review exploring the possibility of switching allegiances.

Members voted to request a community governance review, which will consider whether the town should join Telford & Wrekin Council or remain with Shropshire.

The decision, made at a town council meeting on Tuesday, follows a bitter row over Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds which Broseley councillors feel are being denied from them.

Residents have said the £400,000, which came from developers who have built homes and projects in Broseley, could be spent on improving drainage at the struggling Birch Meadow public field.

Shropshire Council has said the money must first be used for ‘critical infrastructure’. It says the policy is in line with the ‘council’s statutory functions’, and that the policy has been in place since 2015.

Broseley councillors have insisted that they were never told that was the policy, and that they may not have approved building projects if they knew the money would not be available to them.

It has since emerged that Shropshire Council has now released £76,000 for the Birch Meadow – but councillors are still concerned about the CIL money.

After the motion to request a review was approved by nine votes to two, town mayor Councillor Michael Burton said: "This is not a big deal. It is something that every business would look at, and a council has to be run like a business.

"We will now look into the matter and decide how to proceed. End of."

After the meeting, fellow town councillor Mark Garbett said he was "encouraged" that the council had made a "forward-thinking" decision.

Mark Barrow, director of communities at Shropshire Council, and Eddie West, a senior strategic policy officer, earlier attended the meeting and fielded questions about CIL.

Mr West admitted: "We have not been that great on communication."

But he later said: "CIL money has to be used on the back of development. There has to be that link."

Mr Barrow said: "This is not about 'us and them'. We all live in Shropshire, we all have vested interests here."

Services

He said in future he would like better communication and an improved 'interface' between the county council and town or parish councils over CIL usage.

John Pearce, who lives in the town, said last week: "We are paying more and more money for less and less local services to Shropshire Council.

"It’s come to a head now, where the people of Broseley have said enough is enough and have decided to protest about it."

Pete Welch, of Broseley Joggers, said: "We have run two Couch to 5K programmes in the last year for people who want to get fit again.

"We had hoped to use the Birch Meadow, but ground conditions have made this impossible.

"We also stage a children's Fun Run at Christmas. Last year the ground was so boggy that we were nearly forced to cancel.

"We're very disappointed that the CIL money has not been forthcoming.

"Much of the Birch Meadow is now only usable for half of the year because of the drainage problems."

Town councillor and chair of the Birch Meadow Park committee Roy Childs said: "It is our main leisure and recreational space in our town.

"We have been under immense pressure these last few years to keep this park open all year round and with the increased population in town increasing its use it's becoming more and more difficult each year.

"With all the publicity about keeping everyone active in the communities, this is our main space in the town to help this continue to happen.

"Without the CIL money we as a committee or council cannot find the funds to make the necessary works achievable."

The requested Community Governance Review will also look into whether Broseley Wood "should be incorporated back into the Broseley ward".

The Local Government Boundary Commission's advice on Community Governance Review says: "The principal authority is responsible for setting the terms of reference of any review and must also undertake consultation when considering what changes to make."