Growth plans ‘should be re-written’ in response to coronavirus

Calls have been made for growth plans for Shropshire’s market towns to be re-written in response to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Draft local economic growth strategies for Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Whitchurch and Market Drayton were published earlier this year and are currently under public consultation.

But Councillor Andy Boddington, who represents Ludlow North, says the current crisis has rendered the plans outdated and asked Shropshire Council to put off finalising them until the effects of the virus on the economies of the relevant towns are known.

He said: “It is very unlikely the economy will just bounce back after the Covid-19 shock.

“Urban areas with good transport links are likely to recover more quickly than deeply rural areas.

“Post coronavirus we will need to build a more resilient economy and that means a more localised economy and a greener economy.

“We need a strategy that is fit for 2021 and beyond. I think we need to start again on these local economic strategies.”

Councillor Boddington said revisiting the draft reports would also provide an opportunity to improve their environmental credentials, describing the strategy for Ludlow as “old fashioned” and “lacking ambition for a green economy”.

He added: “The climate emergency is only given a brief mention. It could have been written 10 or 20years ago.

“We must think green and work green to reduce our impact on the planet and protect future generations.”

The reports, which feed into the overall growth strategy for Shropshire, highlight a need to create more high skill jobs and retain young people in the county.

They also set out ambitions to expand and develop key business sites, including the proposed Oswestry Innovation Park on land next to the Mile End roundabout.

Sites for a new business park are being explored in Whitchurch, while the expansion of Tern Valley Business Park is underway in Market Drayton.

A key priority in Ludlow and Bridgnorth is to identify new employment land to allow local businesses to expand without being forced out of the area.

The plan for Bridgnorth also suggests re-drawing the town’s boundaries in order to release Green Belt land.

Councillor Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for assets, economic growth and regeneration, said the consultation on the growth strategies had been extended as a result of the pandemic. Members of the public can have their say until May 22.

Councillor Charmley said: “It’s more important than ever that we have local economic growth strategies in place to support our key market towns, given that the economics of Shropshire will change when we emerge from restrictions.

“They will need to be flexible to reflect changing circumstances, and provide a basis to take forward work and opportunities in towns.”

The draft strategies will be ratified by council officers following the end of the consultation.