Call for housing plan delays amid Shropshire A&E confusion
Plans for major housing developments must wait until Shropshire knows what is happening with its main two hospitals, it has been claimed.
Councillor Robert Milton, chairman of Oswestry Rural Parish Council, has warned that it's "dangerous" for large housing developments to go ahead without having the right infrastructure.
His comments come as the parish council has raised concerns about plans submitted for 600 homes on the edge of Oswestry.
He said: "Six hundred homes means a minimum of 1,200 extra people in the town to impact on the town's services which are already struggling, places for schools, stretched GP surgeries and dental practices, and then you throw into the mix the reorganisation of the county's hospitals, which appears to be no closer to being decided.
"There really is a whole raft of concerns to consider with large-scale housing applications anyway and I just think a decision on these developments must wait until we know where Shropshire's A&E department will be sited.
"It would be so dangerous for these housing applications to go ahead, without knowing whether there's the right infrastructure for it."
Councillor Milton has called for planning chiefs to hold off on any decisions on planning applications until a final decision on Future Fit is made. He has also called for a review to be undertaken on Oswestry's health facilities.
He said: "Oswestry's at a midpoint really because Shrewsbury Hospital is 18 miles away from us, and Wrexham Maelor is the same distance away but its accident and emergency is full due to the catchment area it serves."
Councillor Milton also raised concerns about the effect an extra 600 homes would have on the roads – particularly the busy Mile End roundabout.
It comes as Highways England has asked Shropshire Council to put off making its decision on the planning application for three months, in order for officers to work with developers to find out more detailed information about traffic to and from the site.
A planning application for 24 hectares of land between the bypass and Shrewsbury Road – known as the Eastern Gateway – was submitted to Shropshire Council in June.
Applicants J Ross Developments said the homes would increase the vibrancy and vitality of the town.
The land is part of the proposed sustainable urban development that sits within Shropshire Council's Samdev, the blueprint for future housebuilding in the county.
