MP joins calls to object to revised Oswestry Hill Fort housing plans
The MP for North Shropshire has written to council planners objecting to controversial development plans to build more than 80 new homes at the foot of Old Oswestry Hill Fort.
Helen Morgan has joined calls opposing plans by Cameron Homes to build 83 houses below the historic site after the developer resubmitted a planning application last month.
Shropshire Council threw out similar proposals to build on the land north of Whittington Road last year.
The original plans received more than 300 objections, including from the campaign group Hands Off Old Oswestry Hillfort, who insisted the development would "devastate" the setting of the monument.
Planners rejected the original application over environmental, drainage and noise concerns, rather than the homes' proximity to the hillfort, which was built and occupied during the Iron Age (800BC to AD43).
Cameron Homes has now resubmitted plans claiming the reasons for its original refusal have been addressed.
Helen Morgan has cited the opposition of local residents and the Town Council in Oswestry, the need to protect the historic monument, and the 12,000 signature petition as to why she is objecting to the development.
In a letter to the Shropshire Council's planning committee, The Liberal Democrat MP said: "I object to the planning application for the development of 83 houses and associated infrastructure, including substation and pumping station, close to Old Oswestry Hill Fort.
"Most importantly, there is significant opposition to the proposal from key stakeholders.
"Oswestry Town Council is opposed to the development. Its Councillors are the elected representatives of the people of Oswestry, and they have a support from members of the public, both locally and nationally, to protect a beautiful historic monument of national significance.
"This has been demonstrated by over 12,000 petition signatures since the development was first proposed in 2012.
"It’s clear that there is a greater public benefit from conserving this important cultural asset, while land for additional housing has already been identified elsewhere in the vicinity of the town.
"There is a risk of damage to tourism in Shropshire as a result of the development of this site. It is an important part of the offer to visitors to Oswestry and the surrounding areas.
"Its recreational amenity, environmental beauty, and sense of escape enhanced by 360 degrees views and rural context would be degraded by the addition of a significant modern housing development."
She continued: "I hope you will consider that an asset of national heritage and archaeological importance will be irretrievably damaged by further urban encroachment into its setting."
The original planning application consistently met with mass objections from the public, local stakeholders, and national heritage bodies including the Council for British Archaeology, Rescue – The British Archaeological Trust, and The Prehistoric Society.
High-profile academics and media figures also voiced their support for the campaign to protect the hillfort including Professor Alice Roberts, Professor Michael Wood, Professor Mary Beard, Bettany Hughes, Dan Snow, Tom Holland, Francis Pryor, and the author Cressida Cowell. The campaign was also featured on Griff Rhys Jones’ ITV series, Griff’s Great Britain.
If approved, the 83-home development would be made up of two, three and four-bedroom houses and two-bedroom bungalows, including eight "affordable" dwellings with associated access, public open space, electricity sub-station, drainage and landscaping.
