New homes plan near ancient Oswestry hillfort refused

English Heritage described Oswestry Hillfort as "one of the greatest archaeological monuments of the nation"

Plans for 83 new homes near an Iron Age hillfort have been refused.

The proposal put forward by Galliers Homes for the site in Oswestry was rejected by Shropshire Council's planning committee.

The 2,000-year-old hillfort is said to be one of the best-preserved in Britain and numerous objections to the development were lodged.

The council refused the application but not on the basis of its location, meaning homes could still appear.

Instead, the committee took issue with environmental, highways, drainage and noise concerns which Galliers Homes had failed to address, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Planning officers' report said the application was "incomplete" and lacking in detail, with some elements, such as the drainage plan, not being updated since plans were resubmitted with a reduced number of houses.

Insufficient information was said to have been provided "in relation to environmental protection issues such as noise and odour in relation to surrounding land uses".

More than 300 members of the public opposed the development as well as a number of campaign groups and national heritage bodies.

However, Historic England said developing the area would cause "less than substantial harm" to the hillfort's setting. The council maintains any impact on the site would be "acceptable and in accordance with the local plan policies".

The site remains allocated for housing and could still be developed if Galliers Homes were to successfully appeal or lodge a new application which addressed the planning officers' concerns.