Shrewsbury councillors to agree re-purchase of wrongfully sold parkland in closed meeting
Councillors are holding a behind closed doors meeting to agree to buying back community parkland which was wrongly sold to a housing developer.
Shrewsbury Town Council is having an "extraordinary" meeting tomorrow at its Livesey House headquarters to agree the re-purchase of part of Greenfields Recreation Ground.
It comes after a legal battle from local campaigners that dragged on for many years and made its way all the way to the Supreme Court.
The land was sold by the town council to CSE Developments Ltd for £550,000 in 2017, with planning permission granted by Shropshire Council to build 15 homes.
Local residents formed the Greenfields Community Group and, led by Dr Peter Day, fought for the land to be brought back into the hands of the community.
An independent inquiry found that the land, which was designated for community use, was wrongfully sold by Shrewsbury Town Council, and in March 2023, the Supreme Court quashed planning permission granted by Shropshire Council for homes to be built on the site.
The town council apologised "unreservedly" after the findings of the inquiry, led by Michael Redfern KC, at a packed meeting at Theatre Severn in June 2022, and vowed to help return the land to the people of the town.
Negotiations between the town council and the landowner about buying back the land did not begin until after the Supreme Court ruling just over a year ago.
Previous discussions between councillors about the sale have also been held in private on the grounds that confidential information might be disclosed.
In a recent newsletter to residents, the authority said: “We ask that the community bear with us through these complicated and sensitive negotiations and will continue to update you with what we can when we can.
“We appreciate that this process may seem lengthy but there are many issues to consider and this must be done with care and due diligence.”
The council added that it is “currently involved in negotiations with other parties to ascertain how best this can be done”.
“However, we have a responsibility to manage public money carefully and will not be prepared to write a blank cheque to pay over to the developer and his financier.”
The Tuesday meeting starts at 6pm.
