MP upbeat after bid for Shrewsbury Flaxmill funding
Treasury officials are assessing a multi-million pound request for funding to kick-start the redevelopment of Shrewsbury's Flaxmill.
Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, has been pressing the case for funding with the Chancellor George Osborne, after submitting a formal request in July.
Mr Kawczynski said he spoke to the Chancellor on Wednesday evening and was assured that the request – for about £5 million – is being assessed ahead of the Autumn Statement.
He said: "Mr Osborne came to the 1922 Committee to talk to us about various matters last night and I spoke to him after, specifically about the Flaxmill site.
"It is very important to me, it is vital that we get the extra £5 million we need to get the project up and running and he assured me that his civil servants are currently assessing my proposals and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a positive outcome in the autumn statement."
Although the long-term master plan for regenerating the site is currently on hold, the Friends of the Ditherington Flaxmill are set to unveil the first stage of a fully refurbished visitor centre next month.
Mr Kawczynski said he had reiterated the potential for the site in the conversation with Mr Osborne.
He said: "I have said to him that this ticks so many boxes, it is a brownfield site, it is in the top 10 most historic buildings in England.
"There is a huge opportunity for residential and commercial space at the heart of Shrewsbury."
The historic Ditherington site has been the subject of long-standing redevelopment plans with phase one – the conversion of former a stable block into a visitor centre to allow for tours of the site – expected to be completed in November.
