Innovation Park could be white elephant rural councillors say
Plans for a multi-million pound business park on the edge of Oswestry have been labelled a white elephant and a folly by some rural parish councillors.
But Oswestry Rural Parish Council says that if the Innovation Park is to be built then its residents should benefit from any Community Infrastructure Levy that is attached to it.
The site is within the rural parish council's boundaries and at its meeting this week councillors expressed concern that the Oswestry Town Council mayor had called for boundary changes to have it moved under the auspices of the town.
They said they had only heard about the town's interest in changing the boundary through the press.
Chairman, Councillor Peter Richardson said he had not been in favour of the boundary review that took place in 2011 moving land now zoned for hundreds of houses from the rural into the town council and was not in favour of this one while Councillor Tony Milton said the call for a boundary review was a land grab.
He and some other councillors questioned the need for the Innovation Park saying it could become a white elephant.
Councillor Pam Broomby said before the council agreed to any boundary changes it should think about the implications for the Cil funding.
Councillor Martin Jones said: "We shouldn't be wasting money on a folly. If we build these units they should be on the land near Morrisons.
"However if it does go ahead I want to ensure that any Cil or Neighbourhood funding comes to this area.
"Money could be used, for instance to make improvements to the Maesbury Road junction on the A483."
Shropshire Council is consulting on plans for Oswestry Innovation Park, which could be built on land east of the Mile End roundabout.
The park would be a new commercial development made up of 10 plots over a number of phases and will form part of a major transformation to the Mile End gateway to the town.
Work has already begun on levelling the land that would be used for the park.
It is hoped that the units will accommodate a large range of businesses from offices to distribution, with potential for a hotel, small scale food and drink operators, general industry and large storage.
