COUNCIL tax payers will not have to contribute a penny towards the creation of Oswestry’s Village Green residents were assured last week.
All of the £170,000 which has been raised to carry out the landscaping works on five acres of former railway land has been ‘externally funded,” says countryside officer Sean Burkey.
The scheme, which is predicted to be finished in May, will also include improvements to Coney Green, the creation of both formal and informal play areas, plus one of the largest labrynths in the country.
Work began recently on the landscaping with an example of volume recycling moving around 1,000 tons of sub-soil from the new leisure centre site in Shrewsbury Road to prepare the planting areas on the village green.
A living memorial to Wilfred Owen, Oswestry’s most famous son and the bronze spiral sculpture moved from Coney Green walkway to a new location on the green will also be featured.
“Coney Green is part of the design and we are planning to breathe some life into that end of the site,” Mr Burkey said.
“We are not seeking to re-create Cae Glas Park or have a completely wild area. We are looking for the middle ground,” he added
Don’t expect too much
But he warned the public not to expect too much, too soon.
“It will take some time to settle down and become established but we have a very good maintenance plan,” Mr Burkey explained.
The green will dovetail with the nearby Shelf Bank nature site which is being operated by Shropshire Wildlife Trust and both bodies will be in close discussion to create a ‘seamless’ transition between the two.