National Trust push ahead with controversial development
The National Trust is to continue with plans to build 223 homes and flats on greenfield land in the grounds of the Erddig Estate near Wrexham despite local opposition and a challenge from Trust members who recently put forward two resolutions at the Trust’s Annual General Meeting to try and halt the development and bring those behind it to account. Both resolutions failed although the vote to halt the development was very close - in fact the protesters won the vote on “specified votes” (where people indicate a view) with 14380 specified votes for and 14,139 against - but the Chair exercised over 8,000 discretionary votes against the resolution so it eventually failed with 14,382 votes for and 22,158 against. Protestors are now planning to organise an Emergency Meeting of the Trust to discuss the issue. However the Trust’s AGM did pass a resolution asking the the Trust to put sustainability at the heart of of all its decisions in the future and that was a clearly won vote - 22,667 for and just 1267 against.