Food not homes, say residents over green belt plan

Alan Rogers does not believe the village has the infrastructure to accommodate hundreds of new homes

Villagers are demanding plans for hundreds of homes on nearby fields be rejected by councillors.

Residents in Rodington Heath, Shropshire, say the proposal for 338 homes, under Telford and Wrekin Council's draft plan, would overwhelm the area.

All councils in England are to be given mandatory housing targets to meet the government’s commitment to building 1.5 million homes, by 2029.

Councillor Carolyn Healy stressed that the draft plan included potential sites that would not make it to the final proposals.

"We are now working through the feedback, reviewing and revising the draft local plan based on comments received," she said.

"An updated version of the plan, taking into account this feedback as well as any policy changes from government as a result of their current consultation, will be open for public consultation in the coming months."

But resident Alan Rogers called for the fields to be used for crops and not built upon, saying the proposals are not workable.

"It would probably treble the size of the village," he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"I don’t believe the infrastructure is here, the road network, the drainage, lighting, footpaths, so there are a lot of safety issues that could cause a problem."

Some of the proposed houses would be built on open spaces, like this one

Helen Griffiths' bungalow, which overlooks one of the proposed sites, said she was shocked and angry to have found out about the plan through Facebook.

“The village is totally unsuitable for this amount of houses” she said.

“A lot of people might see it’s nimbyism, not in my back yard, but there’s no doctors' surgery, no schools, no shops and the lanes are narrow.

"An increase in traffic is completely dangerous."

Residents have now formed an action group, which has helped elderly residents with no access to the internet, to fill in the consultation documents.