M54 housing development 'very unlikely' to go ahead, says council chief
Shropshire Council should bring an end to the spectre of massive house building off junction 3 of the M54, a senior councillor has urged.
Former leader of the authority, Councillor Malcolm Pate, said it was time to finally put the planning carbuncle to bed while the current leader Peter Nutting said it looked as if the scheme to provide housing for the Black Country would not get off the ground.
His revelation came as councillors were debating the council's finances and the £14 million hole in the budget.
Shifnal councillor Edward Bird said that in light of the finances, the plans for the capital spending at junction 3 should be shelved.
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The proposals are for up to 3,000 new homes and 50 hectacres of employment land on Shropshire's green belt land. The housing would help fill the need for housing by neighbouring Black Country councils.
Councillor Nutting said the proposed development at junction 3 was now “very unlikely” to be brought forward.
He said no evidence had been put forward by Black Country councils that the site should be included in Shropshire’s local plan.
"They had until December to bring that evidence forward, it has not been forthcoming," said Councillor Nutting.
Fierce opposition
Councillor Pate said: "There is fierce opposition to the plans in Tong. There is no justification for the plans and it is time we removed this carbuncle of a proposal from our plans.
"It is not wanted by the people and is not needed to meet Shropshire's housing needs."
The council voted through the budget report.
In his report to council, head of finance James Walton said: “The budget has been reviewed and updated with all known information, and there is now an additional funding gap of £14m in 2020/21.
“This £14m must be found, and the plan is to recover this gap through innovation and transformation to create new models of delivery across the council.
“The council can only deliver a balanced budget by cutting costs in all services to fund increasing social care provision.
“The alternative would be a combination of more government funding, higher council tax and new models of delivery in social care.”
Councillor Roger Evans said that it was the fourth year in a row that Shropshire Council has had to impose a spending freeze in the run up to the new financial year.
