Plans for personal-use squash court rejected

Shropshire Council said the proposed squash court would be an "unsustainable development"

Plans for a "personal use" squash court in a Shropshire village have been rejected by council planners.

David Cadwallader has been told by Shropshire Council that using a unit at Top Farm in Woolston near West Felton would be "unsustainable development".

Mr Cadwallader had already seen one application turned down on appeal on the site, and is facing enforcement action by the council to return buildings to agricultural use.

Former St Oswald's councillor Joyce Barrow had asked that the application be decided by the council's planning committee, and it was supported by Mr Cadwallader's local parish council.

Planners, in their latest rejection, said "provision of the squash courts and associated facilities" represented "unsustainable development."

They said such developments should be focused in market towns and other key centres, adding that it would also be "incompatible with the farming activities and operations occurring in and around the squash courts."

Planners said it also failed to demonstrate a functional link to the existing domestic property.

Mr Cadwallader's planning agent had said that the squash court was for the "personal enjoyment of the applicant" and adequate access and parking was already present on his private driveway associated with his property.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.