Eight acres of redundant hospital land earmarked for 120 new homes will be left empty for the foreseeable future after developers ordered construction to stop, the Chronicle can reveal.
Plans for the former Copthorne South site, which include 43 affordable homes, were due to be submitted this summer but the developers, Crest Nicholson, ordered work to halt this week.
It follows the delay to developments on other sites in the town, the former MEB site at Ditherington Road and the Tesco plot on Arlington Way, and councillors are concerned the borough will be unable to meet its housing quota for the year.
The Copthorne South site, which was used by the NHS until late 2005, has now been cleared of the offices, wards and wartime huts.
Public consultation has also been carried out over the draft plans. James Mumby, from Pegasus Planning Group on behalf of the developers, confirmed he had been instructed by Crest Nicholson to stop working on the site.
“I don’t know the full details why, but I would guess it’s because of the current economic climate.
“We’ve carried out public consultation and we were in the process of analysing the responses received.
“Apart from the demolition work, nothing’s been done on the housing development side of things.
“We’re awaiting further instruction,” he added.
Councillor Peter Nutting, leader of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, said he was not surprised by the developer’s actions.
“I’m not surprised, but if there isn’t going to be any development I do hope the owners will be doing something about the weeds.
“They have a duty to keep the site tidy, it does look rather untidy at the moment.”
He said Shrewsbury is a recognised growth point and has to build 400 houses a year for the next few years.
“That will be difficult to achieve in the present circumstances,” he added.
Selby Martin, from Shrewsbury Civic Society, said it was a ‘blow to the area’ and the group is keen to know what will happen in the mean time.
He said: “We now have three major sites empty and the empty wastelands are likely to remain in that condition for the foreseeable future.”