Developer reveals new hotel vision
Wednesday 11th March 2009, 10:53AM GMT.
Exclusive images show how a new multi-million pound five-storey hotel could look in the centre of Shrewsbury – with developers revealing it could be open by 2011 if plans are approved.
The fresh proposals have been unveiled by Dunedin Property, which wants to build the 127-bedroom hotel on the site once occupied by Telephone House in Smithfield Road. Business leaders today welcomed the plans, which include office space.
Take a closer look at the artist’s impressions below
They say they would provide a big boost to Shrewsbury.
Developers say they have responded to concerns about the scale and design of the project, which it to withdraw previous plans for a 111-bedroom hotel.
They said they had consulted residents, English Heritage and Cabe – the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment – to reduce the scale of the new building.
And they say the current proposal is now “significantly lower” than the nine storey Telephone House.
Dunedin said if the proposals did win the backing of the new Shropshire Council it “anticipates” the hotel could be open in 2011.
Roun Barry, managing director of Dunedin Property Ltd, said: “We have worked with the council officers and the main consultees to produce a pragmatic response to the concerns raised over the previous scheme.
“Given the consensus over the proposals we hope this will allow the redevelopment of this important riverside site to progress without further delay.”
Peter Bettis, vice chairman of Shrewsbury Business Chamber, said he was “delighted” the revamped application had been submitted as it would provide a boost to Shrewsbury.
He said: “It’s good news for the town, businesses, shopping centres and retail as a whole and tourism for people to come into the town.
“It’s a positive message that somebody wants to develop something and they want Shrewsbury to have this facility. We’re in need of another large hotel.
“We look forward to an early completion date.”
By John Kirk
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its too modern for this town but with the economy on its knees how can you say no? we are desperate for the investment, jobs and construction
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yuck yuck yuck
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Shrewsbury is such a pretty town, but is now being turned into a spectacle of bad architecture…check out the new theatre for a positively grotesque example!
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Brilliant. New jobs, investment, somewhere smart to go for a meal, more options for tourists. Why object? Is it really too modern? I suppose we could go back to outside lavvies, gas lamps & cholera. How quaint. We have, however, moved on from Tudor times and Shrewsbury is not just a town for old, dead or decaying buildings or people. We denied our own children the chance to have a state of the art college facility – I hope Shrewsbury changes this negative attitude and starts forwarding the interests of the County town.
The Council refused the development of the buildings at the back of the theatre – now they stand empty, dangerous and derelict. Hardly contemporary or vernacular. They now create an eyesore that smacks of a real lack of professional vision within Shrewsbury’s planning authority. Shot themselves – and the Shrewsbury residents – right in the foot! Idiots!!
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anything is better than the derelict site there at the moment, im glad its screening the monsterous multi storey car park too
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no bother from me, its not the best looking building but as your other commentators say, be glad anything is getting built right now
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fab just what the town needs, investment more tourists. Hurry up and say yes to it all.
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wow that has to be the worst looking building i have ever seen, modern like the wheel @ #1 is it designed to fit in with the bus station. hay Shrewsbury welcome to the 1920′s a new age
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its disgusting, it wouldnt look good in a modern town but in shrewsbury its even worse
No, no, no
We mustnt comprimise our principles because of a temporary recession, in a year or so we’ll be sorted and lots of developers will be looking to put hotels in the area again, we should screen out the best applicants then insist they build them in local stone with a timber frame and a nice clock tower, and vernacular features
Never give up on principles
This building will be there for a hundred years (more if they make it good quality) the recession will be gone in a year
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its really bland, i dont mind modern, but it should be eye catching
modern architecture is fine when done well, but generic concrete and glass blocks are just dull
i would turn it down on visual impact on the conservation area alone
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I don’t know what stage this is at in terms of negotiation with the planners but this is good news for the town and the area. Hopefully there is still time for the appearance to be improved.
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ugly
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Its ugly as sin. The old taller proposal looked better.
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i agree the former proposal was marginally less horrid
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whoever designed this mostrosity needs to design one more and pack it in. too modern for shrewsbury, ideal for featherbed lane or telford
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its sad we cant have our cake and eat it
i support more development in shrewsbury, especially something like a hotel would have a great ripple effect on the rest of the economy
BUT.. its GOT to look right
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It’s almost as bad as Telephone House!
Obviously using the new theatre as a style guide… why are we blighting our towns with thse awful buildings that look bad enough now but in 10 years time will be truly dreadful
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no 17 says its all, it really is worse that telephone house and worse that the derelict land and the car park
i dont believe it either, id rather a plastic tesco store there, would look better!
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how long has this been going on???????
dunedin need to make their minds up because according to them the riverside shopping centre which is now owned by a different company was going to be knocked down by them too.
however, its now owned by the same company who own the darwin and pride hill shopping centres who ARE now going to be flattening the riverside centre, which means no night clubs and no sommerfield. riverside practice already has a new site to move to.
so maybe the hotel is a good idea, to be fair it has to be better than the wetherspoons efforts at the shrewsbury hotel who i have to say is now very scruffy and dated. lets have something new and hideous to go with the new and waste of mone theatre!!
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you lot are all so strnage in shrewsbury, think your so special, your towns not all that, we would be glad of the growth here, you lot will stay medieveal for ever if you turn down every planning application
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northern gal, this is bad enough, but for what the planners allowed to happen to the town 50 years ago, they should be ashamed, the old shire hall in the square, the market hall, the lloyds/tsb building, the post office, morris’s, the raven, the crown, pride hill just to name 7. thankfully there is a bit of tudor shrewsbury left, but the square is a perfect example of how to ruin the centre of a town. – proud salopian
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Great idea. Looks good. Just do it.
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do we really need more hotels in Shrewsbury?
I think we need a 5 star maybe and a good resteraunt but not another low grade travel lodge type operation, i’d rather the land was put up for much needed low cost housing or for offices for high tech well paid jobs, engineering type stuff, or what about the proposed Shrewsbury campus for a regional universty, i might sound like a bit middle class, but thats what we need, high paid jobs, high tech stuff, high calibre resteraunts, its all about quality and a 3 star concrete hotel aint up to scratch for a town that wants quality
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im not convinced this is a quality enough design for our town? I mean perhaps all these planners and expert economists know best, they have all those letters after their name right, they must know what looks good. I’m no architect, im a layperson, but it looks to be like well, cheap, i think perhaps they have substituted materials which cost more for those which cost less to reduce the capital expenditure involved in this investment. Maybe I’m wrong but the Conservation Area of Shrewsbury doesnt really look much like this after all
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we should be glad we can afford to have this arguement in some countries they are so desperate they will build anything, posh architecture is a luxury for rich in the good times, we are now in a recession, so it shouldnt matter what it looks like
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you cannot see enough from the photo to comment, lets all go and see the real designs and then make an informed comment, these things tend to look better in reality than on paper, give it a chance
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none of these comments mean anything unless you put it in writing to the council, planners dont read the shropshire star blog! if you feel so strongly on this people write to the Planning Section at the Council!
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Yippee-not, yet another architectural carbuncle for Shrewsbury. Has no-one got an imagination? Do we really need another box in the middle of Shrewsbury? Such a shame that someone can’t throw away the ruler and use the curves of the river as an idea of shape and form. (If we must have another hotel).
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It looks like a prison!!! So uninmaginative. Who are these so called architects who design these monstrosities – are they mates of the town planning department?
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