SHROPSHIRE Council has revealed their £1.2million infrastructure plans for Whitchurch for the future construction of 500 houses.

Place plans are documents which focus on local infrastructure needs in communities across the county including utilities, roads, schools, housing developments and more.

According to the most recent Place Plan, the most pressing need for Whitchurch is to improve utilities in and around the town, specifically drainage and sewerage.

The plan says one of the key infrastructure issues in Whitchurch is the provision of drainage and utilities to unlock "two significant employment and housing sites in Whitchurch".

One of these employment sites would be in the form of a potential development of a Digital Innovation and Enterprise Park along Heath Road on the outskirts of town.

Land along Tilstock Road has also been earmarked as a mixed use scheme to including homes, employment, open space and education provision potential for approximately 500 homes.

Both of these areas of land require drainage infrastructure to be able to start construction the sites.

Shropshire Council has listed the works to improve drainage as a top priority and they expect the works to cost £1.2million, which is being funded by the council's Council Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

Shropshire councillor Peggy Mullock says she believes the work is necessary to develop the Tilstock Road and Heath Road areas of Whitchurch.

"That side of town is sadly lacking in infrastructure," said Cllr Mullock. "Five hundred homes in that area, the current drainage couldn't carry that volume of waste."

A spokesman for Shropshire Council added: "The vision for Whitchurch is one of sustainable growth, capitalising on its assets and being open to development opportunities to rebalance the economy and reduce out commuting.

"There is a very significant committed site at Tilstock Road already allocated in the current SAMDev Plan which will provide around 500 dwellings.

"The proposed strategy focusses on delivery of a range of medium sized development sites to provide options which complement delivery of the Tilstock Road site, while ensuring the benefits and impacts of development are spread out.

"Two significant employment allocations are still to be delivered at Waymills and Heath Road which make up around 20 hectares."

Meanwhile, other Priority A projects include the upgrade of the electrical supply to Whitchurch and the surrounding areas.

Scottish Power is proposing a major investment to install a new 132KV circuit from Oswestry grid substation to Wem.

This would involve a new circuit of more than 15KM and an extension of the existing substation at Wem to accommodate a new transformer.

The project is currently subject to examination by the planning inspectorate as a major infrastructure project and development is expected this year.

Various other top priority schemes for the town over the next few years include improvements to Whitchurch Wastewater Treatment Works and flood defences in the town, increase in school places and the construction of a new medical centre.