Inspector to hear concerns over Tong green belt plans

The plans, for green belt land near Tong, involve nearly 3,000 new homes

A decision not to include an area of green belt land in Shropshire in plans for future development will be weighed up by a planning inspector after concerns from a would-be developer.

Shropshire Council's Local Plan was put together last year and did not include the land near Tong.

It said it could not justify the release of the land.

Landowners Bradford Estates want to build 2,900 homes as well as an employment park and innovation campus.

It said the project would see some 9,000 jobs created.

The project has the support of neighbouring councils, which believe the scheme would help meet wider housing targets.

People in the village of Tong have opposed the proposals

All local plans created by councils must be examined by a government planning inspector, and the Shropshire plan was discussed over a fortnight in July 2022.

Bradford Estates requested a further hearing, because it said it was unhappy about "the process undertaken in preparing the Shropshire Plan".

It said it intended to "question the adequacy of Shropshire Council's work to meet its responsibilities both to the people of Shropshire and the wider region".

It argued there was an "urgent need" to provide more land for homes, jobs and services.

People living in Tong and the surrounding area have objected to the development plans.

The MP for the area, Mark Pritchard said they were "in the wrong location and of a scale that is just unacceptable for the local community and local parish councils".

The proposals would need to be formally included as a "strategic settlement" by Shropshire Council and receive planning permission before they could go ahead.

No timescale has yet been established on the planning inspector hearing.