Express & Star

More than 1,000 objections to village's 800-home plan as locals send message to decision makers

Campaigners are calling on the council to 'stand on the right side of history' after more than 1,100 objections were lodged against controversial plans to build 800 homes in a village.

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Boningale Homes revealed in March that it planed to build a new development, which would also include a secondary school and care home - in Albrighton.

However, the scheme that threatens 52 hectares of Shropshire's green belt land has received mass opposition following the end of the consultation phase.

Plans submitted to Shropshire Council by the developer state that the scheme would create more than 1,000 jobs and add £62 million into the local economy - as well as aiding Shropshire and Black Country councils to meet their housing needs.

But the Albrighton Village Action Group (AVAG), made up of local volunteers, has welcomed the "overwhelming support" of residents; 1,117 objections had been made against the proposals as of Monday morning on Shropshire Council's planning portal.

The gren belt land in Albrighton

The plans are predominately on green belt land, and campaigners say the development would "destroy high quality green belt and farmland forever".

A petition with 3,700 signatures - said to represent 83 per cent of the local population - has already been handed into the council, and the volunteer group adds that the development would "rip the heart out of the village" and turn the area into a "town with creaking infrastructure and major traffic issues."