Divided opinions over Ludlow house-building plans
Nearly 350 more homes need to be built in Ludlow in the next 13 years – but town and county council chiefs are at loggerheads as to where they should go.
Andy Williamson, from Shropshire Council, said there had been 531 already built or with planning permission in the town and surrounding areas since 2006.
More are needed to meet Ludlow's criteria under SAMdev, the blueprint for planning and development across the county up to 2026.
Shropshire Council's preferred sites for development are the Ludlow Community Hospital site, which will become surplus to requirements when the new £27 million facility is built on the Eco Park, and areas in Rocks Green and around the eco park.
It would see 47 homes go up at the hospital site, 200 at Rocks Green and 80 homes built on land east of the eco park. Plans are now due to go out to consultation.
A counter-proposal to build 200 homes near the A49 bypass by developers Advance Land & Planning Ltd is a direct alternative.
Ludlow Town Council heard at a meeting this week that a bid for outline permission was due to be submitted for the site at Bromfield Road.
Mr Williamson said Shropshire Council could not support it until issues surrounding access, both onto the A49 and across the railway line, had been addressed.
But town councillors say there were question marks over Shropshire Council's preferred options.
Councillor Viv Parry, also the Shropshire councillor for Ludlow South, said the infrastructure had to be right before the homes were built and in particular called for something to be done to help young mums cross the busy road at Rocks Green.
