Shropshire Star

Hundreds turn out for Ironbridge power station consultation

More than 600 people came forward to see plans for the future of the Ironbridge Power Station site, organisers revealed today.

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The cooling towers

It was the most people that had ever turned out for a consultation by power station owner Harworth, who has 136 sites across the country.

And although many of the visitors had positive things to say about the proposals for the site, some were concerned about an increase in traffic, the loss of greenbelt land and the quality of building design.

Iian Thompson, of Harworth, today revealed the figure. He said it had been brilliant to see so many people turn out to the event last week.

"When we do these events we publicise it and you wonder how many people are going to turn out," he said. "But it was phenomenal.

"People wanted to get up close and personal with the cooling towers.

"When we do these events, the feedback that people are giving is in keeping with the feedback we get elsewhere – there's nothing new here."

Concerns

Among those concerned with the plans are Michael and Rachel Mowling, 70 and 67.

The couple, who live in the nearby Much Wenlock Road, said the new development could cause countless problems for its neighbours.

"I can't understand why they want to build 1,000 houses," Mrs Mowling said. "Where are all these people going to work?

"We moved here because it's open countryside. I don't want to look out my window and see all those houses. And if I want to sell my house because I don't want to look at them, nobody is going to buy it off me, because why would they?

"The roads won't cope, and they'll need to do something major."

Mr Mowling said: "Infrastructure just won't cope. Unless there's a dual carriageway somewhere – which could be worse – I don't see how they would cope.

"If you wanted to build a house in Ironbridge, you have to have proper Ironbridge brick. If you then suddenly have a Lawley in Ironbridge, they're not going to build it in Ironbridge brick because there's not enough of them.

"Developers love greenfield sites – there's nothing underneath, they can dig to put everything in. Try and do that on the Ironbridge power station – just imagine the footings for the cooling towers."

Mr Thompson said: "There will be a loss of green land but there are two things. Number one is you need to build on the green land to get the entire development funded. Number two is there's still going to be public open space. A large proportion of the site will be open. The idea that it will all be housing or commercial is untrue.

Sustainable

"A big thing we hear about is how the local infrastructure is going to cope. There will be community facilities on the site so people don't have to make the journey into Ironbridge or Telford.

"We've got to make sure whatever scheme we put forward is sustainable and we have plans for any increase so locals aren't suddenly swamped.

"We are committed to high quality development on the site. People thinking we're going to be bringing forward identikit homes couldn't be further from the truth."

Councillor Nicola Lowery, ward member for the Ironbridge Gorge, said: "The journey has now well and truly begun for the Ironbridge Power Station.

"It is encouraging to see Harworth engage in meaningful consultation with our community at this initial stage and I hope they will give significant consideration to the ideas and concerns put forward to ensure we achieve a regeneration that benefits our communities and positively contributes to Ironbridge Gorge."

For more information about the proposals or to have a say on the plans visit ironbridgeregeneration.co.uk