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Town revamp plan ‘needs revision’
Tuesday 11th August 2009, 8:30AM BST.
Plans which will guide development in Shrewsbury until 2026 need urgent revision amid fears the town could be at risk of losing its cultural heritage, a campaign group has claimed.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England says it is concerned at Shropshire Council’s plans for the future of the town. The authority has just launched a consultation as part of its next stage of the emerging Local Development Framework for Shropshire.
But although some aspects of the plans have been welcomed by CPRE Shropshire, campaigners warn that Shrewsbury is being placed at serious risk of losing its unique identity.
Andy Boddington, vice-chairman of CPRE Shropshire’s executive committee, said: “Why can’t they see Shrewsbury is a county town and a fabulous heritage asset?
“The danger with these plans is Shrewsbury will become a town like any other, dominated by retail parks on a ring road, and swamped by new housing and employment sites.
“These plans threaten the historic and natural environment of the town and could quickly lead to a town focused on its peripheral shopping and employment areas at the expense of its historic core.”
He did, however, point out the plans did have some positive elements, especially for rural villages. He said: “The new council has listened very carefully to concerns, expressed by ourselves and many others, that we must breathe life into the villages and hamlets where people who work locally can no longer afford to buy a home.
“That means affordable houses available near to where people work and new small workplaces tucked into existing settlements.”
The council is preparing a new core strategy, which when adopted will set a clear long term vision, objectives and policies to guide future development in Shropshire.
Consultation began yesterday and will run until October 2. For details visit www.shropshire.gov.uk
By Russell Roberts
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Once again, Shrewsbury is living in the dark ages. It is intent on protecting its cultural heritage rather than wake up to the fact that it is now 2009 and we live in a multi-cultural society. It must embrace multi-culturism now, not persist with cultural heritage until 2026.
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Give it a rest will you and stop moaning!!!!
get with the times we don’t want Shrewsbury in the dark ages, we need modern buildings etc!!!!
At least the council does’nt agree with you, and it’s rare i agree with them!
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arrant nonsense, the planners almost destroyed the town’s medieval character 50 years ago, the latest batch of councillors will never be allowed to destroy what is left in their hands.
is the music hall, rowleys mansion etc safe with our council. i hope i do not have to say what was destroyed 50 years ago and i concrete jungle known as telford is enough for any county
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Shrewsbury. Welcome to your future – as “West Telford”
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I think we must aim to keep shrewsbury with more old buildings that new
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Hold on a second, doesn’t Shrewsbury already have several out of town retail parks and a (almost) ring road? I think CPRE’s comments are about 20 years too late. Furthermore the town is hardly without its sprawling Wimpey homes red brick box style housing developments is it.
What Shrewsbury should do is embrace high quality new architecture, the Tudor times aren’t coming back and we can’t build like that anymore. Pastiche looks pathetic and is far more damaging than good modern architecture. Of course, as yet Shrewsbury hasn’t experienced any good modern architecture and judging by the theatre, new council offices and bland proposals for the telephone house site it will have a while to wait yet.
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I agree with you wholeheartedly Grey except that we do have some great new architecture, Mansers Antique Centre by the English bridge, the Nexus development, Rousehill and Moreton Point , Belle Vue.
Mansers received a National Civic Trust Award in 2005, one of only seven awarded in the whole country that year and two of those went to Guernsey!
If you look at South Shropshire, Craven Arms you will see more innovative housing with sustainable benefits.
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grey is right
sadly its too late for Shrewsbury, first the 1960′s concrete in the town centre, then the huge housing ghettos created in the 80′s have already changed the towns character permenantly
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Don’t dismiss all the 1960S architecture as that was a period of innovation and style which continues into the 1970s but by the 1980s has sunk into Neo Georgian/Victorian sentimentalism and poor pastiche.
The 1960s Market Hall is liked by those who can see beyond the incredibly OTT later period of Victorian extravagances that the previous 1864 building suffered along with its plaques nauseatingly commemorating the councillors and prosperous rulers of the town.
The present market hall (ridiculously Victorianised inside) could be improved vastly with new lifts and the top floors would make fantastic apartments with views all around the town.
I agree that we should look after our heritage and many of the older buildings were built with quality materials that are impossible or unsustainable to source today. Sadly however we have just poor copies of different periods from the past like for example, the fake mediaeval back of shopping centre, reconstituted stone lintels and cills, plastic slate,resin joins in brickwork expansion gaps and artificial chimneys to name but a few!
Modern materials are good but not when used in pretend and dishonest format.
Old buildings look so much better when they stand out in their own glory and are generally diminished when surrounded by watered down fakery or just plain poor design.
Mistakes were made in the 1960s as they were also in the Victorian and Georgian times and those buildings by and large don’t last.The good ones that do have to be looked after including some of those built in the 20th century.
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this plan will ruin our once beautiful town
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what the town needs is more Conservatives in power then we will see council tax go down and more businesses opening up to replace the empty shops left behind by this lefty loony labour legacy of little but looseing
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