DEVELOPMENT

One of the most distinctive qualities of Shropshire is its subtle and varied beauty. Many of us are lucky enough to be able to wander from our homes and in a few minutes escape into a bit of local wilderness. The dawn chorus can still be heard in Telford and the market towns as well as in more rural areas. But this aspect of our lives, which we sometimes take for granted, is now at risk as never before.

The Regional Spatial Strategy, the plan that dictates development levels across the West Midlands, is being re-written. Already Telford was destined to see around 25,000 additional houses by 2026, Shrewsbury around half that number and significant growth in the market towns, particularly in north Shropshire. These numbers are being hiked up still further with public announcements and consultation to this effect due in the next few months. The Borough of Telford & Wrekin has already given a provision nod to an additional 51% rise over those figures already quoted and Shrewsbury potentially 25%. In Telford this could mean a population increase of 100,000 in the next 20 years. In north Shropshire it means a doubling of predicted new house numbers to 7,000 in the same period.

Shrinking greenspace
The impact on wildlife and the wider environment could be devastating if growth is mismanaged. In the early 1990s the Trust undertook wildlife surveys of most of the market towns which involved walking the streets and wild patches, noting the birds, plants and open spaces. Looking back over the 10-15 years since then, the development trends have been dramatic. In Ludlow, the town has almost doubled in area, while in Oswestry the green areas so dutifully coloured in green on the map in 1992 are noticeably diminished.

Telford and Shrewsbury will see the most building development. The original plan for Telford when it was developed in the 1960s and '70s was that it should be a town of 270,000 population, so this projected increase is in line with that blueprint. However, lifestyles and society have changed hugely over the last 40 years, leading to a heavier, dirtier footprint on the environment. Today, for instance, we use around twice as much water as then and produce volumes more waste - eight tonnes per person per year. Quite simply, the environmental carrying capacity of the town will be severely stretched and the problems it presents have not been thought through.

Water failure
Where will the extra water come from? Already the Environment Agency has zoned the rivers and ground water around the town as being of 'no water available' status: there really is no more left to be extracted. There are further problems, as outlined in the current Local Development Framework Core Strategy: "Water quality has failed due to pollution events caused by the nature and levels of surface water run-off from development entering surface water drainage systems... this is a particular issue in the Halesfield and Stafford Park industrial estates."

Shrewsbury faces similar dilemmas, well documented by CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England) in 2005. It is a sobering picture, with possible huge land grabs and major infilling of already pressured green space in the town itself.

What is frightening about all this is the apparent willingness to disconnect many people's lives from places that are wild and freely accessible. Politicians continue to churn out rhetoric about the importance of the environment, with its knock-on benefits for health, well-being, children's play and so on, while taking decisions that will result in the destruction of the very thing they claim to value.

Whether the levels of growth being discussed are justifiable or needed will undoubtedly generate heated debate over the coming months. What is certain is that development will continue, with consequences for wildlife and wild places.

Severn solution
A vision is needed that will take into account both future housing needs and the environment. Imaginative schemes to capture the rainfall still received so plenteously need to be worked out. Restoring the flood plains north-west of Shrewsbury would provide new supplies of water and also help to alleviate the floods which periodically engulf the town. With this in mind, a green wedge could be driven through the heart of the county town planning process, creating as well as protecting existing green space around the River Severn, not only ensuring access to quiet recreation and wildlife for many, but also a civic river frontage in the town centre to be proud of. And yes, to help generate economic investment.