New public park details revealed

Details of a new public park at the centre of a huge new housing development in Telford have been released.

Planners at Telford and Wrekin Council has been running the rule over the finer details of an area of public open space known as Central Park at the development of up to 1,100 homes in Priorslee.

The principle of the development has long since been approved and also include a commercial/employment centre, retention of an existing farm shop,  garden centre and play barn, erection of a primary school, local centre a retirement village.

The developers and planners are in the process of filling in the finer details and the planners have this week given approval for Central Park.

Central Park will include a footway leading to a circuitous walk around the public open space. It includes a spur off to the north-west of the site towards a proposed community orchard.

As well as access from the main spine road, the plans indicate six additional connections from the surrounding land.

Planners have requested an additional accessible route from the south, which has been incorporated.

There is also going to be play equipment of different types with natural sourced timber being a key material.

“The area of play is situated to a created sunken depression to the ground with a landscape bund surrounding the space,” council planners say in their decision note. They asked for more seating, planting and amendments to the play space which has also been incorporated.

Informal seating areas will be located along the proposed footway, along with bin facilities. Proposed planting in the form of trees, shrubs and amenity grassland is proposed throughout the public open space. Existing vegetation is retained and conditioned.

There were no objections from St George’s & Priorslee Parish Council, Donnington & Muxton Parish Council or from highways; ecology; healthy spaces; drainage and Shropshire archaeology.

But two public objections were received about the wider proposals for housing, and overlooking, noise, increased traffic, loss of trees, insufficient infrastructure, flooding and pollution.

But planners said the issues were “not considered material to the determination of this reserved matters application for public open space.”

The need for better pedestrian connections (particularly next to the A5) was also raised. Planners say that pedestrian connectivity to and from this site has been considered and addressed.

“In respect of other matters, the proposal does not result in the loss of any trees or hedgerow and instead includes the significant planting proposals,” the planners add.

As such, the LPA consider the proposal to be compliant with Local and National Planning Policy.

The council’s decision notice was issued by the council on Thursday, May 29, 2025.