70 applicants go for two jobs at Shrewsbury’s Flax Mill

More than 70 people have applied for two jobs to spearhead multi-million pound plans to breathe new life into Shrewsbury’s historic Flax Mill Maltings, it was revealed today.

About 40 applications have been received for the project manager vacancy and almost 30 for the manager of the Friends of the Flax Mill, with the last few applicants still being processed, council chiefs say.

A number of high-quality applicants have put themselves forward for the two roles, which have salaries of £43,361 and £32,752 respectively.

The chosen candidates will help develop more detailed plans for the site in support of a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant of £11,686,000.

The project has already cleared the first hurdle, with lottery bosses awarding £465,300 in May.

That money is paying for the two management roles and the studies needed to support the application.

The project manager will oversee the development work and put together a business plan to identify the potential users of the transformed site. The other role will look after community and heritage activities.

Councillor Mal Price, Shropshire Council cabinet member for economic growth and prosperity, said: “There has been a very high level of interest in both of these roles and we’ve had a really encouraging response to the job adverts.

“We’re currently collating applications, but at the latest count there have been nearly 40 for the project manager role, and almost 30 for the Friends manager, with expectations that the final figure will be higher.”

He added: “Shropshire Council is responsible for the project manager post and will be short-listing candidates in early August.”

Councillor Alan Mosley, chairman of the Friends of the Flax Mill Maltings, said: “We’re really pleased with the number and quality of the applications and are looking forward to interviews on August 7.”

By David Seadon