£500k and four months of work on Oswestry play area to start next week

Improvements to the Unicorn Road recreation ground in Oswestry - and the greenway that runs through it - are set to begin on Monday, November 18.

The work will be fully funded by £500,000 awarded to Shropshire Council from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

The greenway connects the Cabin Lane and Unicorn Road residential areas to The Meadows Primary School and local recreational facilities.

Initial plans were announced earlier this year, but have since been developed following conversations with the school and its pupils to find out what improvements they would like to see. In addition, UKSPF has now agreed to fully fund the work, which was initially subject to match-funding from the council.

The work aims to make the recreation ground more welcoming and will include improved entrances, new solar lights, new seating and tables, new signage, a new 1km run, landscaping and path widening.

There will also be a new crossing to Unicorn Road, and an ‘implied’ zebra crossing - that is one without flashing beacons - to Cabin Lane.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for active travel, said: “This project will allow Shropshire Council to better meet the needs of the local community by improving a key existing pedestrian and cycling link between residences and The Meadows Primary School – and providing an improved and much more welcoming recreation ground for local residents to use and enjoy.

“I want to thank the school and their pupils for letting us know how they think the recreation ground could be improved. We’re grateful for their comments and many of these ideas and suggestions have been incorporated into the final plans.

“We hope that these improvements will enable and encourage more children and their parents/carers to walk and cycle to and from school; reducing the number of car trips to and from school, and improving road safety and the local environment.”

The Oswestry Greenway route has been identified in the draft Shropshire Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) as a top priority route for both Oswestry, and for Shropshire as a whole.

Work is set to be completed by the end of March 2025. Shropshire Council will lead on the delivery of the project, along with consultants WSP, contractors Kier, and Oswestry Town Council.