Plans quashed by Supreme Court for 15 new homes in Shropshire

Judgement has been handed down after a five-year legal battle favouring campaigners views that land in Shrewsbury should be left for recreational use.

Campaigners in Shrewsbury have won a Supreme Court appeal to stop houses being built on a park protected by a 100-year-old statutory trust, in a landmark ruling for the protection of green spaces.

A judgement, delivered on Wednesday, ruled in favour of a resident who argued a statutory trust, created in 1926, gave residents rights of recreation over the land, even after Shropshire Council sold it to a developer.

The result means planning permission for 15 homes granted to CSE Development, a Shropshire-based housing development organisation, by Shropshire Council have now been brought to a halt.

Judges found that at the time of the sale, the authority did not realise the land was subject to a historic statutory trust, and ‘did not therefore comply with the necessary procedure’.

Dr Peter Day, acting on behalf of Greenfield’s Community Group, brought the legal challenge and said ‘the people of Shrewsbury feel completely vindicated by today’s ruling.

‘This saga should have never dragged on for so long and would never have happened if Shrewsbury town council had kept proper records of public land and the statutory trust which granted the people of Shrewsbury rights over the land 100 years ago.’

Following the result, Shropshire Council said it would now consider what the judgement meant for the planning application.

During the conclusion of the ruling, judges added that local authorities in the future should remain mindful of the lands they possess before deciding to give them up to property developers.

Ian Browne, the Legal Manager of Good Law Project, which helped to fund the case, told the Guardian: ‘We are delighted with today’s supreme court ruling, which will set a precedent to help safeguard green spaces across the country from being sold off and the rights of communities to enjoy them for generations to come.’

Photo by David Hepworth