Campaigner brands council 'woefully inadequate' as £550,000 Shrewsbury land row heats up

Alyson Lanning from the Greenfields Community Group has written a strongly-worded letter to Shrewsbury Town Council, the authority which "unreservedly" apologised over the sale of part of Greenfields Recreation Ground to a housing developer in 2017.

An independent review found the land should have been designated for community use and never sold for housing.

Campaigners launched a legal challenge, which has been rumbling on for several years and is due to end up in the Supreme Court in December.

After the review by Michael Redfern QC was published, the council said sorry to campaigners at an extraordinary general meeting at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury in June, also pledging to help return the land to the community.

But last week, council leader Alan Mosley said the authority had been advised "unequivocally" by a planning barrister not to enter mediation or discussion with CSE Developments – the current owners of the land – until the Supreme Court hearing has taken place.

Now Ms Lanning has told the council is it "hiding behind the cloak" of the Supreme Court hearing, and insisted campaigners "will not go away".

She said: "I do not have to remind members of Shrewsbury Town Council of the content of Mr Redfern’s report – its lengthy and detailed analysis proved to be a damning indictment of the practice, policies, and procedures of the town council.

"From the outset of the GCG campaign in 2017, our campaign leader, supported by members of the Greenfields Community Group, has persistently highlighted that the recreation ground was part of the park, ensuring town council officers and councillors were aware of the historical trust and providing the evidence to that effect: the existence of the deed which proved the fact. All the evidence and continual pressing was summarily dismissed or ignored by officers and councillors.

"In the event you sold the land unlawfully. This is an irrefutable fact.

"There is no such legal definition as ‘land off’ or ‘land adjacent’ to GRG as stated at the June meeting. It has always been Greenfields Recreation ground and this information is NOT hard for STC to find as it is in the public domain at the Land Registry."

"The four group leaders of STC made a statement at the June 8 meeting. Each avowed that ‘lessons have been learned’ and combined with an individual apology from each, words to the effect that the land would be returned to the community.

"Shrewsbury Town Council’s ‘unreserved apology’ and commitment to ‘consult with the community’ can only be described as woefully inadequate despite overtures from yourselves: yet another pyrrhic gesture.

"The Greenfields community is your priority. To wait for the outcome of The Supreme Court hearing is disingenuous to say the very least.

"STC should not be deferring to a court’s decision to diffuse, delay or even renege on your commitment to return the recreation ground to Greenfields park.

"Rest assured, Greenfields Community Group will continue its battle to ensure that you return the land to Greenfields Park. We will not go away."

At the heated meeting in June, Mr Redfern described feeling "a certain vibration" from councillors and "a temperature" from campaigners, and urged both parties to try and come to an agreement to avoid huge legal fees which could run into the hundreds of thousands.

Shrewsbury Town Council has been contacted for comment.