New retail park and care home on site of former Shrewsbury golf course set to get go-ahead

Planning permission was granted almost two years ago for a mixed-use development including retail units, gym, drive-through coffee shops and restaurants, and a residential care home, set to be built near Oteley Road in Shrewsbury.

The scheme was first proposed in 2019, with developers Cordwell revealing that Starbucks, KFC and tanning salon Indigo Sun had already signed up for the development, set to be built on the site of a former council-owned pitch and putt golf course.

But building work has yet to begin on the site - with developers putting forward a scaled-back scheme in December last year which would see the shopping complex reduced from two floors to one, and around 15 bedrooms reduced from the overall size of the care home element of the proposals.

Now, those new proposals have been recommended for approval ahead of a meeting of Shropshire Council's Northern Planning Comittee next week.

"The proposed modifications to the approved layout and design of the mixed use development which includes retail units, a gym, and a care home would include a reduction in the size of the care home and the provision of a single-storey retail unit instead of a two-storey one; along with other site layout alterations," said a report from Shropshire Council's planning officers, set to be discussed by the committee.

"The proposals do not raise any significant additional planning issues, and officers consider that the proposed changes to the approved plans are acceptable in relation to Development Plan and national planning policy.

"The conditions on the original planning permission which control how the development is constructed and operated can be included on the new planning permission. It is recommended that planning permission for a variation to the approved plans is granted."

The re-design of the proposed care home would see its footprint reduced by around a third, and the number of bedrooms drop from 80 to 66. The care home element of the scheme would create between 70 and 80 jobs, according to the original proposals.

Meanwhile, the proposed two-storey mixed retail and leisure building would lose its first floor, becoming single storey only, along with other changes to the roof and internal layout.

The developer says other "relatively minor" changes would be made to the overall layout, including a redesign of the pedestrian and cyclist entrances to the site, to improve accessibility.

The application is set to be discussed by Shropshire Council's Northern Planning Committee next Tuesday, June 17.