Residents near Bridgnorth highlight garden village fears
Residents who could soon have more than 1,000 new neighbours are calling on the authorities to consider the “devastation of over-building” on nearby farmland.
Neighbours living down The Lye on the outskirts of Bridgnorth overlook rolling fields in Tasley which could soon become a “garden village” as part of Shropshire Council’s Local Plan.
Under consultation until the end of September, the proposals are for house-builder Taylor Wimpey to build 1,050 homes and at least a 16-hectare employment site by 2038 on land south of the A458.
But the group highlighted various issues with the development, including the importance of farmland, the sheer size of the proposals and the additional infrastructure needed.
Jenny and Keith Alderson, who founded Keith Alderson Butchers in Bridgnorth, now farm land overlooking the proposed development as they have done for more than a decade.
Jenny, 59, said: “People have to eat and during lockdown we’ve had the ability to buy and source things locally, which has been very helpful.
"This is prime farmland which should be used as farmland.”
Patricia Pearce, 65, who used to work in education, said: “I certainly know the young people of our children’s generation like to know the provenance of their food and buy locally.
Scale
“It is not just people of our age group which is a really important point as it’ll be the young people that are having to deal with this in the future.”
Gillian Howard, 60, a retired research scientist, added: “We’ve seen that Covid-19 is having a severe affect on public transport.
"Buses are running through town virtually empty and there is no guarantee residents would even be given these amenities if development went ahead.”
Steve McDermott, a 65-year-old antique dealer, raised concerns regarding the prior research carried out by Shropshire Council and the developers before submitting the development as part of Shropshire Council’s Local Plan Review.
Having had no response to a Freedom of Information request he had hoped to receive before the end of the current consultation, he has submitted a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office
Anthony Pitchers, 71, said: “Another 700 houses have already been earmarked towards Morville and I don’t think people realise the scale.”
