Homes plan raises concerns

New jobs and infrastructure must be in place to support any new housing developments in Shropshire, it was claimed today.

The claims were made by politicians ahead of a key meeting of the West Midlands Regional Assembly which will discuss proposals which could see more than 50,000 homes built in Shropshire by 2026. The assembly has drawn up its proposals as part of the Regional Spatial Strategy.

It is an important document which will determine how many homes should be built in the region over the next 20 years.

The proposals outline plans for 365,600 homes to be built in the West Midlands over the period - 15,000 less than ambitious Government targets for the region.

In Shropshire 25,700 homes would be built under the new proposals, with a further 26,500 in the Telford and Wrekin area also being built by 2026.

Within the revised emerging plan 6,200 homes would be built in Shrewsbury and 24,000 in Telford itself while in Oswestry 4,000 homes would be built over the next two decades - 900 more than previously estimated.

David Wright, MP for Telford, said: "We need new homes in Telford and in particular we need new affordable housing and housing for rent.

"New homes need to be predominantly on brownfield land and we must have the infrastructure and jobs to support any development."

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, added: "What concerns me if they do undertake a huge building project and bring more people into the county I don't know how our schools will cope because they are so massively under-funded."

Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow, said: "The needs of each of our communities are best determined by those closest to them. For example in south Shropshire we need far more housing in several of our communities whilst there is more pressure on preserving green spaces around the conurbation.

"This is a classic example of where local knows best and decisions on numbers should not be imposed by a regional authority."

By John Kirk