Fury as £10m plans shelved

Protesters armed with banners and placards will march on the centre of Wellington this weekend after the plug was pulled on a project that would have brought £10.5 million funding to the town and new bypass.

Telford & Wrekin Council shelved the Telford Sports, Learning and Enterprise Community project this year, saying it was not sustainable.

The scheme would have seen a 1,500-seater arena and centre of excellence built behind Wrekin College, where it was hoped Britain's netball stars for the 2012 Olympics would train. A relief road would also have been built.

It was to have serviced the college and The Old Hall School and to have taken traffic away from the town centre.

Protest organiser Emma Gledhill, of Leegomery Road, said it would take place on Saturday morning.

She said she was "flabbergasted" some town councillors refused to back a bid to ask Telford & Wrekin to reconsider its decision.

Mrs Gledhill said: "I think the square will be full on Saturday, because there is an awful lot of feeling about this in Wellington.

"For more than four years we have been complaining to the council about the volume of traffic. This relief road would have been the answer.

"It would have taken major traffic away from the town during term time."

She added: "You are talking about £10.5 million worth of funding, the building of a sports village and national centre of excellence. It beggars belief these superb plans have been allowed to flounder."

The council said it was committed to regenerating Wellington and improving borough sports facilities.

Councillor Miles Hosken, cabinet member for leisure and culture, said: "Although the original TSLEC proposals were found not to be sustainable, it has not been cancelled and is a continuing project that will in future focus on providing a range of leisure facilities across the borough, rather than focusing on a single location.

"As far as the broader regeneration of Wellington is concerned, we are committed to a comprehensive £8.5 million phase one regeneration project to transform the town centre and civic quarter along with the provision of a new bus station and car park as part of Telford & Wrekin Council's Borough Towns Initiative.

"We are now completing traffic management proposals for the residential roads around Wrekin College and Old Hall School and residents will have the opportunity to comment on these this autumn."

By Wayne Beese