First glimpse of Shrewsbury Waitrose plans

Friday 27th January 2012, 10:59AM GMT.

The proposed development at Percy Thrower’s Garden Centre in Shrewsbury

This is the first glimpse at how a £40 million retail development including a new Waitrose supermarket and garden centre will look in Shrewsbury.

Developers have released the first artist’s impressions of how the development, which will create up to 250 jobs, would look if the Oteley Road plan is approved.

Under the proposals the existing Percy Thrower’s garden centre would be knocked down once a new 60,000 sq ft garden centre is built to the south of the current store.

See more pictures in our gallery to your right

A new shopping parade complete with seven retail units will also be created, alongside parking space for nearly 600 cars and a new Waitrose.

The plans are being developed by Garden & Leisure Ltd, which owns the garden centre, Waitrose and Cranford Developments Ltd.

Simon Hoare, a spokesman for Cranford Developments, said the plans formed the first part of a ‘new community’ set to be built in south Shrewsbury.

He said: “It is important to stress this is not a retail park. It is phase one of a plan which will see new housing, commercial space and employment created in south Shrewsbury. “

The plans will be on show in the café at Percy Throwers garden centre in Oteley Road until 5.30pm today and tomorrow between 10am and 4pm.

See also:

View more: Shrewsbury news, Waitrose news.

1
spencer

January 27, 2012 at 12:01

I wonder how many of the Sutton Farm/Ottley road residents won’t think the increase in traffic will affect their day to day life, unlike the Football Ground.

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- CW
  
  January 27, 2012 at 13:33
  
  My thoughts exactly Spencer. Do you think that the parking permit scheme in Sutton Road will have to apply 7 days a week just in case Waitrose Car Park becomes full and shoppers need to park somewhere else??
  
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2
Troy Tempest

January 27, 2012 at 13:21

Simon Hoare has a terrible habit of appearing like a bad smell wherever a controversial planning development is proposed. Oswestry and Whitchurch have suffered him of late and now it would seem Shrewsbury. He’s also being a pest in Hay-on-Wye. You can guarantee this will be a retail park which is not needed when the centre of Shrewsbury is suffering and when there are plans for new development in the Pride Hill and Riverside centres.

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3
Jimbo

January 27, 2012 at 14:36

Why will it be patronized by ghosts?

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4
rm

January 27, 2012 at 15:27

‘It is important to stress this is not a retail park. It is phase one of a plan which will see new housing, commercial space and employment created in south Shrewsbury’

I seem to remember Simon Hoare saying exactly the same thing in Ellesmere – in order to get a Tesco built! what happend to that?

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5
Stephen

January 27, 2012 at 15:39

Ha ha – the hypocrisy and unwarranted snobbery of Sutton residents will now be underlined!

That said, when in a few years time the golf course is a housing estate and the fields along Oteley road are shops – their upset might be justified…

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6
Driver

January 27, 2012 at 16:04

We need another supermarket in Shrewsbury like a hole in the head.
Garden centre yes no problem. Percy would turn in his grave he he knew !
If it is not approved then I am sure our local MP will be lying in the road again !!!

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- spencer
  
  January 30, 2012 at 10:14
  
  Got its fair share of Garden Centres.
  
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7
julian

January 27, 2012 at 16:33

The drawings for plans like this never feature more than a couple of token cars. In reality a sea of cars would give a better sense of how it will look. It will put a nice big dent into Sainsbury’s takings, that’s for sure.

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- The Original Jake
  
  January 30, 2012 at 16:19
  
  Have you ever been to Waitrose in Newport? A sea of parking spaces, even though the car park is quite small. It’s too pricey for many people.
  
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8
David

January 28, 2012 at 22:27

Sainsburys is bursting at the seams and was turned down by Shropshire Council for a much needed extension. As Julian says, the car park would be a sea of cars, evidencing that this development is desperately needed. The fierce competition between these supermarkets is key to driving down the price of everyday goods we all buy and whilst I would oppose a Tesco or Asda store, the quality and values that run through a John Lewis business will bring to Shrewsbury can only be a good thing.

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9
Chris

January 29, 2012 at 17:07

Stating the obvious here: There is a Sainsbury’s and Dobbies Garden centre literally just down the road. Why not build this in West Shrewsbury if needed? Although I don’t think the town needs another store at all, the west isn’t very well catered for. Also, Shrewsbury has too many upmarket stores! I know the town is quite wealthy, but surely people would prefer a larger ASDA to another high-end offering like Waitrose?

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10
AM

January 30, 2012 at 16:32

Living close to the area where the proposed development is I can say that in general terms we have no objection to the development of the Percy Thrower site, even if it is bigger than we anticpated it would be and would be happier if it were smaller. What we are extremly concerned about is that on the back of this the Council will try and build yet another unwated business park and industrial units plus houses. Why? when Battlefield Enterprise Park lies half built and what has been built is half empty. We must do all in our power to stop the green belt being developed further. This is not a ‘not in my back yard’ reaction it’s purely common sense to keep everything in one place.

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- spencer
  
  January 31, 2012 at 10:13
  
  Great idea, you could do a swap deal with the incinerator.
  
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11
Katherine de Gama

February 1, 2012 at 09:55

Of course Waitrose will have done it’s feasibility studies but I wonder who will be shopping there. The town centre branch only carries their cheaper lines but the price of some of the goods in their large stores makes you gasp – and I only shop for two. I much prefer the friendly chats and local produce in the town centre delis and market hall. Fortunately, from where I live I can do all my shopping on the hoof.

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12
the name with no man

February 1, 2012 at 16:05

“Sea of cars” don’t they know that the automible was designed for dry land only.
“Sea of amphibious cars” would be more accurate. Tsk!

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13
El tel

February 1, 2012 at 23:19

another tacky cattle shed, cant they afford a decent architect and some decent stone cladding? this is a MEDIEVAL town for Christs sake

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