Shrewsbury residents win Supreme Court fight to halt homes

The Supreme Court ruled planning permission for 15 homes on the site should be quashed

Campaigners have won a Supreme Court appeal against the building of homes on parkland in Shropshire.

Judges ruled the plot at Greenfields, Shrewsbury, wrongly sold to developers by Shrewsbury Town Council in 2017, should remain for recreational use.

It means planning permission for 15 homes granted to CSE Development by Shropshire Council has been quashed.

A written judgement acknowledged the town council's oversight had caused a "messy situation".

The judges found that, at the time of the sale, the authority did not realise the land was subject to a historic statutory trust, and "did not therefore comply with the necessary procedure".

Dr Peter Day said the people of Shrewsbury should have been properly consulted before the recreation land was sold

They ruled it "highly likely" the outcome of the private developer's planning application would have been different had the town council carried out the proper investigatory work.

Shropshire Council said it would now consider what the judgement meant for the planning application.

The appeal was brought by local resident Dr Peter Day against Shropshire Council's granting of planning permission to CSE Development in November 2018.

Dr Day, who formed the Greenfields Community Group after investigating the history of the recreation ground, previously failed in appeals to the High Court and Court of Appeal.

But the Supreme Court judges unanimously dismissed the unitary council's argument that the statutory trust ceased to exist when the land passed into private ownership.

"This sort of thing only happens in movies, and we've actually made it happen," Dr Day said.

'Incredible community'

"We've had children put in their pocket money [for the campaign], old aged pensioners putting in £100 here and there," Dr Day said.

"Greenfields is an incredible community in many ways...there are people who have lived here their whole lives.

"We have residents who played [on the land] as a park," he added.

Residents gathered at Greenfields Bowling Club to hear the ruling

In its conclusion, the judgement referred to an audit report recommending Shrewsbury Town Council must put "robust procedures" in place to ensure a similar oversight would not recur.

The judges added it would be "all to the good" if other local authorities also "took stock of how they acquired and now hold the pleasure grounds, public walks and open spaces that they make available to the public to enjoy".

Greenfields recreation land was bought by the borough in 1926, following a petition from local residents asking for playing fields to protect children from "fast moving traffic".

The disputed plot, which lies to the west of the recreation ground, is currently vacant and overgrown.

Dr Day, who said he felt "vindicated" by the ruling, said he expected Shrewsbury Town Council to now restore the land to become a fully functioning part of the recreation ground.

'Warning to councils'

He added: "This saga should never have dragged on for so long and would never have happened if Shrewsbury Town Council had kept proper records of public land and the statutory trust which granted the people of Shrewsbury rights over the land 100 years ago.

"This clarification of the planning law applying to the sale and development of public land is a warning to local authorities and a victory for community groups across the country."

The Good Law Project, which helped support the appeal through crowdfunding, said it was wrong for recreational spaces to be sold without consultation.

"We hope this will set a new precedent in how local authorities manage and maintain public spaces in the future," said campaigns manager Hannah Greer.

Residents said they want to develop the whole park not just the piece of land

Shropshire Council noted the Supreme Court had reached a different view to the Court of Appeal and High Court.

"We will study the judgement carefully, in particular what this now means for the planning application which becomes undetermined when the quashing order is made," a spokesperson added.

Shrewsbury Town Council has been approached for comment.

Dr Day said residents want to hopefully develop the park and have been in conversation with Sports England and other organisations.

"We don't need to stop at the Supreme Court," Dr Day said.