A tourist attraction has been given retrospective planning permission after a decade long saga – but the final decision now lies in the hands of the Secretary of State for Housing.

The British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry applied retrospectively for for the extension and alterations to existing lawful buildings to include improvements to an existing access and change of use of land to formalise the sculpture park on part of the site.

And although Shropshire Council’s North Planning Committee granted permission for the development at a meeting yesterday (Tuesday), the approval notice cannot be issued until James Brokenshire, secretary for state for housing, communities and local government, decides whether to call in the application for a public inquiry.

The latest twist came about in the hours before the meeting, when a member of the public wrote to the government urging the plans to be called in.

Councillors said they were granting permission despite concerns over the access to the site off the main A5 road.

And Councillor Paul Wynn, chairman of the committee, said that if he was a businessman he would not have spent money on the centre without the relevant planning permission already being granted.

Ruth Cragg, a member of the public speaking against the application, said: it was unfair that the centre had been operating since 2009 without the correct permission.

She told the committee: “It has been a massive change to the area with the number of car parking spaces alone rising from 18 to 2,410 on event days.“It is frightening to think no permission has ever been granted for these changes and the A5 is a very busy road with a 60mph limit.

“The site should be closed down while the changes are made.”

Clive Knowles, chairman of the centre, told the committee that mistakes had been made but the positives outweigh the negatives.

He said: “If we had the opportunity to things again we would do it differently and I hold full responsibility for that.

“However, there will always be people who find fault in the centre and everything we do. No matter what they will always be against us.”

“But we will surpass 100 staff this summer and we work extensively with schools, we have the Knife Angel and plenty of community work.

“The centre is a vital community asset that is entirely self-sufficient. In the cold light of day we have had a petition signed by 20,000 people in support and won countless awards.”

Philip Mullineux, planning case officer, said: “The application under consideration is clearly large scale consisting of a variety of different class uses, some of which can be considered more appropriate to a town centre location, (A1 – retailing).

“On Monday I received a letter from the secretary of state saying he had been contacted by a member of the public asking that the application is called in.

“So by granting permission members are doing so but pending the secretary of state viewing the plans and deciding whether a public inquiry is needed.

“If he decides one is not needed and he correct conclusion was reached, a permission notice can be issued.”

He added: “While it makes use of a former farmstead and some of its surrounding farmland, it is not a diversification of the former working farm, as the former farmstead is solely in use in connection to the business operated and known as The British Ironworks.

“Clearly this does result in some conflicts with local plan policies, and as such the overall sustainability of the proposed use, and in particular landscape and visual impact along with degree of uses more associated with a town or key centre.”

He added: “Highways England as the statutory consultee in relation to the trunk road network have responded to the application recommending that a number of planning conditions be imposed in the interests of maintaining highway safety and the efficient operation of the A5.

“The response acknowledges that the applicants have submitted an Events Traffic Management Plan and Parking Management Strategy that will relate to the discharge of two of their recommended conditions and that following a review of these and further clarification from the applicants that they are content that development on site is suitable subject to conditions attached to any approval notice subsequently issued.

“However with consideration to the site’s planning history and potential traffic issues arising from the development, Highways England considers it will be necessary that events are subject to periodic review as circumstances regarding operation of the site and traffic on the A5 past the site access are likely to be subject to change over time.”

A previous economic impact report said the centre was worth £4 million to the economy.

Members voted unanimously to approve the plans.