AN OSWESTRY businessman and resident says not enough is being done to improve the town after spending a day highlighting areas that need work.

Phil Brown took to email and social media last week to call out councillors over the state of shops and streets, as well as the incomplete Horsemarket Ramp, a project that stalled over many months.

He told The Advertizer that only two councillors – the mayor Councillor Jay Moore and Cllr Mike Isherwood, plus town clerk Arren Roberts – responded to his concerns and added that he wants Oswestry Town Council to be more proactive in its communication of these issues.

Border Counties Advertizer: Broken railings in Oswestry. Picture by Phil Brown.

He said: "My concerns are the deterioration of Oswestry and the silence from councils about it.

"It seems the priorities of the council about it are null and void at the moment.

"I've emailed each and every one of the councillors and I received two replies to the pictures of the town in a sorry state.

"They need to remember they're elected members, custodians of this town and never has Oswestry needed strong representation more than now.

"The state of the town is disgusting.

"From the response I've had, I'm not convinced they share my frustration.

OTHER NEWS:

"I had Cllr Mike Isherwood share some details with me as to why there's been delays as some stuff is out of their hands.

"There doesn't seem to be any putting of information put on their website to say what they have been doing such as fencing around buildings because they're a danger to the public

"But have you seen the fencing around one of our most iconic buildings Llwyd Mansion? It's a disgrace.

"It's like the railings that have been knocked down by the old Morrisons – they've been like that for the last 18 months.

"The biggest thing going is the ramp at the back of the Horsemarket – that's been 18 months."

Mr Roberts said the council shared the public's frustration with the lack of completion on the ramp, but expects it to be finalised by February.

He added: "The town council works closely with partners such as Oswestry BID and Shropshire Council, among others, to address issues in our town.

"We, both individually and collectively, have been proactive about many of the issues highlighted on social media over the weekend.

"Some are outside our control and legal powers and some are being progressed.

"However it is important to note that elected members do raise them with other responsible bodies and aim to hold them accountable.”

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