Angry residents of a Shropshire village have joined forces to prevent a developer from progressing plans to grab green belt land for a massive housing development.
Albrighton Village Action Group (AVAG) has been officially launched this week to fight Boningale Homes’ ill-thought-out proposal and has already received huge backing from the local community and Mark Pritchard MP. Over 2000 people have signed a petition to say ‘NO’ to plans to build 800+ houses on 56 hectares of green belt alongside Cross Road, Newhouse Lane and both sides of Patshull Road.
This significant overdevelopment is outside the agreed Local Plan and will involve the removal of an enormous area of productive farmland, mature trees and hedgerows, with extremely negative implications for roads, railways, health services, traffic levels and pedestrian safety. Claire Lakin, spokesperson for Albrighton Village Action Group, said: “This group has been formed to give local people a co-ordinated voice in the fight against Boningale Homes and other developers who want to destroy our village in the pursuit of quick profits.
“We are not against development that has already been agreed in the Local Plan and Albrighton has seen large recent expansion with hundreds of homes being built. This new proposal threatens our status as a village and will destroy our beautiful landscape, in this case protected green belt land.
“At the same time, it will eliminate many of the reasons why people choose to live here. Talk of this development being needed to accommodate overspill population from the Black Country is ridiculous, especially when you consider that very region has a surplus of suitable brownfield and greenfield sites and an urgent need for urban regeneration.”
Albrighton Village Action Group has made significant progress with the number of people signing the petition passing 2000 in just a few weeks and over £1000 raised towards operating costs to fight the plans. Positive meetings have been held with local politicians and members have attended sessions with Albrighton Parish Council and Shropshire Council to take advice on how to oppose these proposals.
Tellingly, AVAG has now commissioned planning consultants and lawyers to support its objectives. 5000 flyers - detailing the reasons behind the opposition - are being distributed across the village this week, with future protests planned and an Albrighton Village Action Group public meeting in the process of being scheduled.
Claire continued: “Developers see green belt land and villages as a huge opportunity to maximise profits, ignoring the damage and long-term loss it will inevitably cause. You only have to look at similar plans being touted around for Brewood, Codsall and Bishops Wood, not to mention recent threats to Tong and the overdevelopment of Shifnal.
“This issue is not going away and, as local people who feel passionately about our village, we need to be ready to oppose, pressure and work towards the ‘right’ outcome. As there has been no official planning application submitted yet, we are urging residents of Albrighton not to engage with Boningale Homes. Instead, they should sign our petition, join our Action Group, and get ready to fight.”
To sign the e-petition, visit Oppose Boningale Homes. For further information on AVAG, follow the group’s social channels on Facebook and X (formally Twitter).
