Exciting plans ahead for site of Shrewsbury gas explosion
It shook Shrewsbury exactly five years ago today – and today it was revealed the site of the 2010 gas explosion has finally been sold.
The boarded-up site was put on the market for redevelopment in April and on the fifth anniversary of the explosion, commercial agent Halls has confirmed the site has been sold.
Because of a confidentiality clause in the sale, Halls can not say who the site has been sold to or for how much - but it today described the news as "exciting".
The blast happened on January 3 2010. Six people suffered serious injuries and a number of properties were badly damage.
James Evans, commercial manager at Halls, said: "There is something afoot there and the sale has been completed to a new owner.
"While I can't give much more detail, what I can say is it will be good news for Shrewsbury what is going to be happening and it won't be contentious. When people see what the plans are then they will understand what is happening."
The 0.6 acre site, which is situated at the junction of Bridge Street and Smithfield Road, attracted "great interest" from prospective buyers when it first went up for sale.
The building was flats and a vacant unit which was being transformed into a restaurant were destroyed in the blast which was caused by a gas leak.
Potential future uses of the site did include a restaurant, offices or residential space and will be subject to planning permission from Shropshire Council.
No details of the asking price for the site was made public. But it is expected any redevelopment could cost about £1 million due to factors linked to the site's location complicating any construction work.
Back in April Carl Huntley, managing director of Base Architecture, said it was hoped the improving economic climate would allow a developer to come forward.
He said the high cost of development meant any future building was likely to be commercial premises, including a possible combination of a restaurant and offices.
In April 2011, National Grid and BT agreed to pay compensation to 11 victims of the blast and they were finally made early in 2014.
A year-long investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found a gas leak had caused the blast.
It found nobody was to blame as there was no evidence of any breach of safety legislation.
