Latest phase of Shrewsbury's Riverside redevelopment is approved despite flooding concerns

Shropshire Council submitted outline plans for the latest phase of its Smithfield Riverside regeneration in December 2024, which it says could create more than 1,000 jobs in the area as part of a scheme to replace the now-demolished Riverside Shopping and Medical Centre in Shrewsbury.

The authority believes that when completed, the development could create up to £2.5 million per year in additional spending in Shrewsbury town centre - along with a potential extra £1.55 million in business rates for the council. 

The first phase of the scheme, including the demolition of the former shopping centre and creation of a new public park on Roushill, was approved in March.

At a meeting on Tuesday (April 22) the council's planning committee approved an outline proposal to establish the principle of developing three building plots on the site. 

Final uses for the new buildings, which could include office space, residential or hotel accommodation, will be decided later in a separate detailed application. 

The latest phase of the regeneration was given the green light despite fears raised by the Environment Agency over how residential areas of the site would be evacuated during floods, after planners decided flood mitigation measures could be laid out as part of the future application.

The development fronts onto the River Severn on Smithfield Road, an area of Shrewsbury heavily affected by river levels, and has been designed to sit on a raised "podium" to mitigate against floods.

A submission from the Environment Agency (EA) earlier this month highlighted its  concerns over safe access to the site for future residents during a flood, warning that water depths around the podium could reach up to three metres in some circumstances.

The EA said that more information was needed from Shropshire Council and its developer RivingtonHark over plans for escape routes and access for emergency vehicles - in particular given that the final use of the site could eventually be residential.

A number of potential escapes had been proposed as part of the scheme, including a new footbridge linking the development to the former Pride Hill Shopping Centre site, and an exit over Frankwell footbridge which the agency said would land "within an area at risk of significant depths of water with no escape route".

"There is a strong possibility that the final use of the site could be entirely residential, given the flexibility required at the outline stage and the impact of market forces on the final development," the agency said, in a letter dated April 7.

"The consideration of access pivots entirely around the ability of a development to deliver safe access and escape routes during a flood event. This relates not only to the occupants/users of the development but also whether the emergency services can reach people in need. 

"The application must demonstrate that safe access and egress during a flood event is achievable for the life time of the development."

They added that due to the "high degree of uncertainty" in the final plans, the application could be refused on flood risk grounds.

However, the scheme was supported by a majority vote of the planning committee, who ruled the issues raised by the Environment Agency at consultation stage could be managed by planning conditions on a future detailed scheme. 

Future conditions will include a detailed warning and evacuation plan, flood risk protection and mitigation measures.