Town council to request boundary review due to new housing developments

The town council has resolved to ask Shropshire Council for a boundary review, with members saying the level of house-building on the town’s outskirts had rendered current borders “nonsensical”.

It has been suggested that the boundary should be aligned with the A49/A5 ringroad and the route of the proposed North West Relief Road, while the internal ward boundaries within the town could also be set for a shake-up to address a growing population disparity between divisions.

Shropshire Council will consider undertaking governance reviews across the county following this year’s local elections and is asking town and parish councils to register their interest, with less controversial changes to be looked at first.

A report to a Shrewsbury Town Council meeting on Monday evening by town clerk Helen Ball said changes involving Shrewsbury – which is surrounded by nine parishes – were not expected to be straightforward.

But members agreed the council should register an interest with the unitary authority in the hope that a review can be undertaken in the next few years.

'Ridiculous situation'

Councillor David Vasmer said: “It’s pretty obvious that it’s something that needs to be done.

“It’s getting ridiculous really, the situation in some of the parishes on the outskirts of Shrewsbury. We do need to make sure that the urban area of Shrewsbury is fully contained within the town council’s area.

“There should also be an internal review of boundaries because of the developments that have taken place and the growth in some wards compared to others. There needs to be a re-evaluation.”

Councillor Alan Mosley said: “There does need to be a review. It’s becoming increasingly nonsensical, particularly when the current development is built out.”

Councillor Mosley said it could however prove to be a “double edged sword” if a review results in the number of councillors being reduced.

He added that the town council’s desire for a boundary review was not a “land grab”, but was simply in recognition of the pattern of development on the edges of town.

The finance and general purposes committee unanimously agreed to register its interest for a governance review with Shropshire Council.

'Potential conflict'

Ms Ball’s report said the scale of development in the last 10 years had seen the town’s development boundary expand into neighbouring parishes.

She said this had led to “difficult conversations” and “potential conflict” in cases where the town council had supported proposed developments but the parishes did not.

The report also highlighted the fact that when the Shrewsbury south and west sustainable urban extensions (SUEs) were under consideration the town council was not consulted as the proposed sites fell outside the town boundary.

It added: “There is a case to seek expansion of the outer boundary to basically follow the line of the A5/A49/proposed NWRR line.

“This would allow for better development planning for infrastructure, the ability to represent those residents who will inevitably see that they live in Shrewsbury and will wish to access Shrewsbury infrastructure.”

Other towns have also expressed a wish to see their boundaries expanded, including Oswestry, which wants to take in the proposed Innovation Park to the east of the town bypass, and Ludlow, which could absorb the neighbouring parish of Ludford.

Shropshire Council leader Peter Nutting has previously said he would also like to see some smaller parishes merge together to improve efficiency.