Council starts work on land won back by residents

Shrewsbury Town Council said vegetation had been cleared and plans would be drawn up on next steps

A council that bought back a piece of land in Shrewsbury that it wrongly sold for development has started work to turn it into an open space for the community.

Shrewsbury Town Council sold part of the Greenfields recreation ground on Falstaff Street in 2017, but planning permission was later overturned in the Supreme Court after a residents’ campaign.

After the land was bought back, the Greenfields Community Group called for it to be turned into a haven for wildlife.

Council leader Alan Mosley said work to remove old vegetation had almost been completed.

Fay Easton, group chairwoman, said it was “momentous” to have reached this point, adding: “Here we are with the land and the leader of the council saying this land will be accessible by the community within the next few months.”

She said the site would be highly-valued for generations to come.

'Important public asset'

Ms Easton said residents wanted seating, three or four entrances, and some solar lights to provide security.

“It’s a really important public asset. It’s beautiful in the middle of this housing,” she said. “If you look at an aerial map, this is a massive green space.”

Mr Mosley said plans would be drawn up on turning the land into accessible countryside, and suggested there could be paths and wildflower planting, with some of it left wild.

"It will be a countryside-type unit that’s semi-wild, semi-amenity, allows people to come on it, bring the dogs, have picnics in certain parts, but the nature recovery elements of this are very important," he said.

The old vegetation had been well over six feet high, with brambles and saplings, he added, but had been cleared with a special, robotic machine.

The council sold the land, earmarked for 15 homes, to a developer in 2017.

Campaigners crowdfunded to take the case to the Supreme Court and won the appeal last year. The council paid £1.34m to buy back the site.