Rural Parish Council

Maesbury Ward – HNS May 2018

Question 6 If there were to be new housing – what type of housing would be appropriate? Responses to ‘Other’

None needed New builds wouldn't match the area. None - if we carry on every field - countryside will be destroyed by housing!! Current policy approach to development in the countryside (limited to specific and very special circumstances). Only on site of existing buildings. Mixed Our ward - only what is permissible within Countryside status Housing Association

Question 7 What size of housing might be appropriate Responses to ‘Other’

None needed 2/3 bedroom None - nothing here for people. None To comply with countryside status Our ward - only what is permissible within Countryside status All Mixed

Question 10 Are you aware of any empty dwellings in your Ward which could be brought back into use? Where?

Maesbury Manor The 'Manor' has been on the market for quite a few months. Maesbury Within our ward Old Methodist Chapel, Ball Lane and cottage behind Wharf Cottages by Navigation Inn. On Chain Lane

Clerk: Carole Warner Orchard Cottage Rowe Lane Welshampton Ellesmere, SY12 0QB Tel. 01948 710672 email: [email protected] www.oswestryrural-pc.gov.uk

Question 13 What do you consider to be a major obstacle to buying a home in the Parish?

Lack of infrastructure - no shop, school, post office Potential for it to be ruined with over development by greedy landowners. There are none being built in Trefonen, Treflach and Maesbury. Unsure None available The people Not enough individual type shops, too many of other types. People who move to area complain about new houses. Lack of affordable housing and local amenities ie community hall. Cost / deposit for 1st time buyers. Cost and not enough houses. Mortgage availability? Stamp duty (if applicable) Lack of homes suitable for first time buyers Cost Nothing Very few facilities There are no suitable houses for sale in the village. Affordability In my ward no NHS GP surgery, no NHS dentist, no hospital, no chemist, no bank or buildings society, no shops, no school, no post office, no community hall, no leisure facilities, no super fast broadband, poor bus service, narrow lanes, on a flood plain. No school now. Low wage economy locally - zero hours and no contracts means money problems. Not enough affordable housing. Lack of well paid employment, public transport inadequate, increase carbon footprint need car. Even small house are expensive. The cost no community shop or PO Over populated county, overspill from Midlands No School, no shop, there is nothing here!! Can not afford one For families no facilities and too far from Oswestry Lack of local amenities To many houses are buy to let No local amenities - no shop - post office etc. One has to drive. There aren't enough houses to buy in Maesbury Lack of work, facilities, public transport and local schools.

Question 14 If you any other comments, please make them here:

Internet is poor, mobile phone signal weak, Navigation bridge needs widening, sewage disposal east of Navigation bridge relies on pumping unit in Fairfield Lane There is no local need, just local greed! SCC to ORPC too slow Shrewsbury needs to attract better companies into a bigger joined together shopping mall. Lived here all my life. Would love to buy property in Maesbury but too many people complain. We have enough houses in Maesbury! They shut the school so they should know that there are no services here. Middleton is a hamlet of a handful of houses, lets keep it this way!!!! In todays times you have to move further and further away in land to find some fields and countryside to live in. There is already an enormous housing estate at the top of Middleton Lane so don't bother trying to build anymore!! I moved here to live in the countryside. If you build anymore I might as well live in Birmingham!!! Middleton Lane is already used as a rat run. Suggestion - build some where else! No new builds are wanted in the Maesbury area. They would be an eye sore. In Maesbury there is no school, shop, post office or anything like that, so in my opinion more housing is no good for this rural, quiet and pretty area. Please leave alone. Empty shop buildings should be allowed to convert to housing - particularly Oswestry centre. Villages would benefit from more houses, ignore the not in my backyard attitude. I feel , where my children go to school is being over developed. I can not see how the school can cope with extra intake. The roads are getting too busy specially Western Road. There does need to be a stop to the building new houses at some point or we will not be a rural town (Oswestry) anymore! if we don't build anymore people will need to buy elsewhere (what's wrong with that!) Why don't we develop the town - more shops -there are plenty of empty shops in Oswestry. We do not need anymore new houses!!! Stop destroying the countryside please!! We moved into this area to get away from housing estates. needs to remain just that 'Rural'. We have had plenty of questionnaires to fill in over the years and each time we have asked for a play area for the kids in the village yet our present ward parish councillors are more concerned with stopping any development. Developers should not be allowed to build in countryside. The majority of our parish is open countryside and it should remain as such as farming is very important. In my ward Oswestry is the hub as it is used for the services/facilities available that are mentioned to question 13. Cars are needed by residents to make use of these services/facilities. Fro my house there are only fields and houses within a 10 minute walk in any direction. This area is not suited to more development. The houses are single track, never intended as through routes but for access often between deep ditches where there is seasonal pooling of water or in cutting through higher fields with no verge or footway. The present extra use due to roadworks has already caused a lot of damage to the road surfaces. The seasonally wet areas are of great importance to wildlife such as curlews, lapwings, (sky larks on the higher ground) and others. New housing requires a plan! The above answers are based on our ward being designated as countryside status for planning purposes and on a designated flood plan. All questionnaires should be retained for at least 2 years before being destroyed - we request this as a condition of taking part in this survey for obvious reasons. Please note the online version of this form is totally misleading and confusing. Online forms should be abandoned as unfit for purpose. Maesbury Councillors are against planning of any sort. One reason they give is flooding. This is not true, it never floods on the ground that has been put in for planning in Maesbury. As a result of no houses being built Maesbury has become a village of old people. We need lots of affordable houses to bring young people into the village. They are against houses in Maesbury but vote for houses in Morda. Lack of mains sewage a real problem. High water table. No shop, doctor, dentist, hospital. No Post Office, no primary secondary school, village hall. Library only one a fortnight. Not accessible for some areas. No path to walk. No leisure facilities. Rural Parish too large and diverse. Morda/Trefonen separate to the other wards (they have schools/shop/PO) which have no infrastructure. Vehicles still speeding through the village. Dog walkers not picking up their dog mess and rubbish being dumped down lanes etc. Traffic quite heavy, speeding through 30mph limit. Not too well lit, more street lights needed. Community should have amenities at present eg library, school, church, shop/post office. Infrastructure for extra traffic before housing developed. Should also be built on brown field sites. Oswestry is being ruined along so many other rural market towns. Packed with people all who travel miles to work, very few local jobs now. Even worse with 600 plus new homes. We have recently moved to the area and away from built up areas to be more rural and in the country. We don't want this lovely area to become built up. A lot of residents are against any development - most of them are retired. Maesbury would benefit from a shop to create a community feel. More housing, more families, young energy.