I went to the Town Council meeting on Monday evening and listened to the excellent presentation given by our Town Clerk, David Preston, on the subject of the Smithfield proposals. It is quite clear that this is the only viable proposition for Oswestry, which is expanding so rapidly. The entrance to Oswestry from the Shrewsbury Road would be impressive, particularly as there is the new hotel there now. The students at the college opposite are desperate for the new facilities which would be available to them. Also a very important point here is that without this development the cattle market would cease to be a viable proposition and our farmers would have to travel to Shrewbury or Welshpool. The representative from the NFU was present at the meeting and feels that any proposal other than the Smithfield would be disastrous for our farmers. A question was raised about the effect on the town centre and it was stated that all the revenue generated from this proposal would be ploughed back into regenerating the centre of Oswestry, as opposed to the profits going to private developers if any of the other proposals were to go ahead. There will also be a free bus which would carry passengers to and from the town centre, meaning that the awful parking conditions in Oswestry would be alleviated.
I also went to the Central Car park proposal display at the Wynnstay on Saturday and it is quite clear, that apart from the fact that this scheme would be unable to start before 2014, there just is not enough room in the centre to accommodate everything that Oswestry needs for the present time and for the future given that Oswestry is expanding so rapidly.

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