Site of New Housing Development Plagued by Calls for UXO Finds

Shrewsberry, England West Mercia Police and bomb disposal experts were once again called to a building site in Shrewsbury after receiving a report of suspected unexploded ordnance. This marks the fifth time EOD have been called to the sitewhere new homes are being built on the former Copthorne Barracks, former home of the Army's Western Division headquarters.

A 100-meter safety cordon was put in place and officers urged people to avoid the area as the UXO was investigated and safely removed for proper disposal.

The barracks were constructed in the 19th century and sold by the Ministry of Defence in 2018, with plans to build 220 houses. Police and bomb disposals units were previously called out to the site in July and September to carry out controlled explosions on UXO found during construction work.

The September and October UXO finds come after site developer, Bellway, said it had hired a company in August to search for addition UXO on the site. At the time a spokesperson said, "Bellway has engaged a specialist company to assess whether any further devices could be present on the development. Searches have taken place in the construction and all public areas at Copthorne Keep. This company will remain on site while groundworks on the remaining plots are completed and will carry out thorough checks on each." It's unclear if the recent finds were in areas previously checked by the specialist company but the finds help to bolster the view that no UXO sweep or survey is 100% accurate and complete and caution should be taken in areas suspected of containing UXO despite efforts done to remove hazards.