Hopes that Ketley village green bid will stop homes building
A parish council in Telford is to apply to turn a beauty spot in the area into a village green.
Councillors at Ketley Parish Council said at their meeting last night that gaining village green status for the Paddock Mound will help prevent development on the site in the future.
A small area of the site is currently has planning permission for 12 homes to be built on a spot of the land which is waiting for a decision by Telford & Wrekin's planning committee.
More than 80 protesters attended a meeting last month to help discuss ways they could save the Paddock Mound.
Councillor Hilda Rhodes said: "I think it would be a safer way of saving the Paddock Mound as long as we get it passed through Telford & Wrekin Council."
An officer from Telford & Wrekin Council advised the parish council to apply for village green status for the site without the area under planning permission, but councillors want to save as much as the area as they can.
Councillor Laura Hodgkinson, who was chairing the meeting, said: "Why can't we push for all of the area to be a village green including the bit they are developing on?"
Councillor Rhodes said: "You can't do much about that as there is a planning application in, but we should try and save as much of the area as possible."
The parish council agreed earlier in the year to oppose the plans for the site, which has been earmarked for development since the 1980s, when campaigners helped prevent houses being built there.
Horses are currently grazing on the site where the proposed houses will go.
Councillor Amrik Jhawar said: "For it to be a village green it must be used by the people and at the moment they don't use that part of the site, it is used by horses."
Councillor Maggie Evans said: "People do use it. I use it when I walk up there, but not with my dog. If it has to be used by people to save it then the horses need to come off."
The council agreed to put the item on the agenda for next month's meeting where they could discuss the issue further.
At the public meeting earlier this month, a number of issues were raised over the planned development on the site. Under the plans, Shepherd's Lane will be widened, which residents believe may cause people to speed down the narrow lane. There were also concerns raised over damage to wildlife.
The planning application is due before Telford & Wrekin Planning committee in the new year.
