Shropshire Star

Another Telford parish council to back Princess Royal homes campaign

Another parish council has agreed to give money to refurbish medics’ accommodation at the Princess Royal Hospital – but hasn’t decided how much yet.

Published
Telford & Wrekin Council are working with the hospital trust to renovate the houses

Stirchley and Brookside Parish Council are holding off putting a figure on their donation until they know exactly what the money is going to be used for.

Other councils’ pledges have ranged from £2,500 to £5,000, and have reached £30,000 in total.

Stirchley and Brookside is the first parish to discuss a donation request since the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH) called off the threatened overnight closure of Telford’s A&E.

Stirchley ward councillor Trevor Bate: “I would like to know how the hospital has allowed this housing to deteriorate.

“All of us, who are taxpayers, have paid for this hospital already. Now they are begging for money from the parish.

“They are going to put staff in this without consultation from the other members of staff. That is going to cause problems between them.”

Request

Fellow Stirchley councillor Robert Breeze pointed out that SaTH were not asking for the money – the request instead came from Telford and Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies – but added that he did not trust SaTH’s leadership.

Councillor Arnold England, who represents the Brookside ward and is also a member of the borough’s cabinet, acknowledged that some of his colleagues were concerned.

He said: “It’s a valid question: Why should we have to pay for something that the government should be funding anyway? I’m not sure those houses were let to fall into disrepair, but they were used for other things.

“We are bringing them back into use – and it’s a small thing – to encourage doctors and nurses to come.

“The fact that business and the people are involved shows it is about a community.”

Cllr Stuart Parr, who represents the Brookside ward, said: “Anyone else who asked us for a grant would have to tell us what it was for. What exactly will this money be used for?”

Councillors voted to delegate the decision to its nine-member Policy and Resources Committee.