Plans to build 1,000 homes and community facilities on the former Ironbridge Power Station site will mark a “significant change” on the green spaces around the area, it has been claimed.
Shropshire Hills AONB board partnership manager Phil Holden, said he believes the plans at the iconic site have not considered the impact on the hills.
In a paper he will present to the board next week, he says he is worried about the impact on green spaces.
He said: “The guidelines and the consultation document overall do not mention the Shropshire Hills AONB, and it is not apparent that potential impacts on the AONB have been considered in the proposed allocation of this strategic site (including landscape and visual impacts but also other aspects of the AONB’s special qualities).
“The partnership’s main concern is that the western part of the site, abutting the AONB, is greenfield agricultural land.
“Building here is not therefore redevelopment, and would be a significant change to the character of this area of countryside, which would presumably not be considered if it did not happen to be within the same ownership parcel as the main power station site.
“While it is clear that development is not proposed to extend to the furthest boundaries of the ownership, the greenfield area indicated on the masterplan for housing is still extensive.
“At its north-west corner it comes right up to the AONB boundary and to about 200m from the important heritage asset of Buildwas Abbey.”
He added: “The land slopes to the north, and the uphill southern two fields are visually prominent in views from The Wrekin summit, one of the most visited countryside locations in the AONB and the county.
“The western part of these fields includes land which starts to slope to the west away from the power station site, so development here would not link visually with the main part of the site and would have the impression of spilling over into the valley leading south to Farley occupied by the A4169.
“To reduce these impacts on the AONB and important locations and features within it, we believe the extent of development on the greenfield land needs to be reduced, and its layout and landscaping carefully considered with these considerations in mind.”
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