CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to fight on against National Trust proposals to build houses on a historic North Wales estate after narrowly losing a vote.

On Saturday a motion to halt plans to build a new village at Rhostyllen, Wrexham, on Trust land was voted for by NT members 14,318 to 14,139.

But the NT chairman at the Trust’s Liverpool annual general meeting used a discretionary block vote of an additional 8,019 to push the proposals through.

These were from members who had decided to let the chairman choose what to do with their vote.

The plans are to build 223 houses and flats, including 55 affordable homes on the trust land at Rhostyllen.

But protesters are now planning to call an emergency meeting of the Trust, which they hope will see off the development.

The trust insisted the new development is necessary to provide funding for the upkeep of the Erddig Hall estate, which was bequeathed to it in 1973 by its last squire, Philip Yorke.

But opposition to the plans has been growing for two years both from locals who are concerned the development will destroy the character of the area and from members around the country who are concerned about the trust's new role as housing developer.

Aran Jones of rural communities pressure group Cymuned, one of the 352 to sign a petition against the plans, said: “It is a breach of the National Trust's duty to protect our heritage and the rural environment. They are acting like speculative developers rather than a heritage organisation.”

Two resolutions about Erddig were put forward at the meeting staged in Liverpool.

The first was to scrap the development and the second was to remove the directors who were behind what the protesters describe as “a major switch in policy from conservation to speculative property development”.

Protesters said they were confident they had enough support to press ahead and call an emergency meeting of the National Trust. To do this it will need the support of 8,000 members.

“We are very confident that we have this level of support. We know that many people have resigned their membership in protest and others have contacted us to say they are disgusted by what the trust is doing,” protester and Wrexham county councillor Carrie Harper said.

National Trust’s Director for Wales Iwan Huws said 35,000 National Trust members voted in each of the two ballots, rejecting the resolutions put forward by opponents of the proposal by a ratio of nearly two to one.

He said: “The proposed development is needed to provide for the long term future of the hall at Erddig and its surrounding parkland.

“We have worked with the local community and its elected officials to ensure that the proposal meets the needs of the local area, both in terms of the type of housing and the facilities that are needed.

“The proposals are going through the democratic planning process, with the council’s planning committee due to consider the proposals for the second time in the near future.

“We appreciate that development of this nature will rarely be universally welcomed, and fully respect the right of people to express their views in this way.”

Mr Huws said revenue from the sale of 20 acres will help safeguard the future of the 18th Century Erddig Hall and about 1,000 acres of adjoining land.

As well as new homes, the plans include a community hall, tea room, shops, parks and a playground.

erylcrump