Shropshire Council Vote on Local Plan

Today I attended the full Shropshire Council meeting at Theatre Severn. On the agenda was a vote to send Shropshire Council’s local plan on to an independent planning inspector. I had previously spoken to Councillor Ed Potter and the leader of Shropshire Council about my concerns about the plan and its effect on Shifnal. I subsequently spoke to the officer in charge of the project, who talked it through in detail. He has been unable to provide any more information about the planned employment land, and it was clear that the land from Lodge Hill that is marked as ‘safeguarded’ is not needed for Shifnal to meet its target for house building, given that recent developments are included in that target (making the net required circa 300).

Because no amendments were made to the plan subsequent to my conversations, I had only one choice: to speak out against the Council’s proposals and to vote AGAINST the Council’s local plan.

However the recommendations were narrowly passed by 34 votes to 28. This is not the end though, as the Town Council, Shifnal Matters and residents can continue to submit evidence to the independent inspector. We can only hope that he or she takes account of the substantial case that has been made against further development of Shifnal and that its expansion is reduced to more manageable levels.

Here is a copy of the speech I made today at full council:

“I believe the position of the Town council, the campaign group Shifnal Matters, and the opinion of residents should be clear following the thousands of responses Shropshire Council have received during consultation.  Sadly, during that time amendments to the plan through the iterations of consultations have not met with the satisfaction of residents.  Indeed, only recently I questioned officers over the plan and was unable to obtain any reassurances.  The safeguarded land which stretches from Lodge Hill is not required for Shifnal to meet its housing target as current and recent developments already account for the large majority of that.  It also further reduces our border to Telford and Wrekin, which is one of the purposes of maintaining a green belt.  Similarly on employment land, officers were unable provide any information on the type of employment, or the sector of industry that it might be used for, or to give any indication as to the interest obtained in it so far.  Nor could they provide any information on the highways plans to mitigate any subsequent increase in traffic.  I understand and sympathise with the position of the leadership and Cllr. Potter who has inherited the plan at this stage of the process following recent elections and have been sympathetic towards Shifnal.  However, with the plan in its current form, my mandate from the electorate is clear and I must oppose these proposals.”

More information on the plan can be found on this page of Shropshire Council’s website https://shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/reg-19-pre-submission-draft-local-plan/

In other news, I continue to attend Shifnal Town Council and Tong Parish Council as a member of those councils and I am continuing to report residents’ concerns (email ebirdshropshire@gmail.com). I am supporting Councillor Paul Williamson, the Mayor of Shifnal, in his initiatives to improve the effectiveness of the Town Council, including timely completion and management of existing projects, improving communication with residents and ensuring Shifnal residents get value for money for their council taxes.