'Our village is not grey belt' - Campaigners continue fight against planned 800 home development in Albrighton
Locals in a Shropshire community have vowed to continue the fight against 800 homes in their village, following the collapse of the council's local plan.
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Members of Albrighton Village Action Group (AVAG), based in a village Boningale Homes plan to build a new estate, have also hit back at claims from the developer that earmarked farmland for the homes is ‘grey belt’.
The group, which have accrued 3,700 signatures on a petition opposing the development and over 1,100 official objections to the Boningale Homes plan, are adamant that the 52-hectares of land highlighted is "prime green belt" and is now calling on Shropshire Council to throw out the planning application and "quickly dedicating resources to undertake a detailed and accurate green belt review".
The call comes after Shropshire Council were forced to withdraw its local plan - the document that proposes where new homes are to go - which the council has conceded will result to more speculative development in the county.
However, AVAG said the development proposed for Albrighton was "obscene".
“The scale of the proposals are obscene, completely unsustainable and inappropriate for our community,” said Sharon Barker, spokesperson for AVAG. “We’re not surprised by the continued cynical tactics of Boningale Homes, who are looking to take advantage of the collapse of the Shropshire Local Plan and changes in policy and guidance on the green belt/grey belt.”