Oswestry’s controversial town green has the potential to attract £2 million of funding to the area and could rival public spaces in European cities such as Madrid, it was claimed today.

The derelict five-acre site off Gobowen Road can become something the town is proud of and central to the future of the town, Shropshire Council’s community conservation officer Shaun Burkey said.

And the council officer, who has been put in charge of the management of all of Oswestry’s 33 green spaces, appealed for everyone to put past differences behind them and work to make the town green a success for all the community.

The site was controversially deemed a town green last year following two public inquiries. Advantage West Midlands had bought the land as part of its plan to build a health village.

A group of residents opposed the plan and won the right to see it registered as a town green.

The medical centre is now being built in the nearby Cambrian railway works building. Mr Burkey said it was vital that people, who were angered by the decision to register the land as a town green, looked to the future.

He said: “What has happened in the past is now in the past. There is still a lot of bad feeling about what happened but this site is a vital piece of green space.

“This space could be of European significance and could be on the par with what you see in places such as Madrid where they have amazing public spaces.

“If a designated project officer is appointed to bring this forward the site has the potential to attract funding of £1 million or £2 million.

“That is the sort of level of funding needed to develop the site.”

He added: “The site ticks all the boxes for that level of funding and is what Oswestry deserves.”

Mr Burkey said he had a meeting with the town green campaigners and representatives from groups such as the Cambrian Railway Trust, Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Os21 to come up with visions for the site.

Those visions will be presented to residents during a series of public consultation events over the next few weeks.

By Iain St John