Major revamp for Shrewsbury's Riverside is 'on the way', says council leader

Councillor Lezley Picton, leader of Shropshire Council, said that £18.7m of 'levelling up' funding the authority has received from the government will allow it to accelerate plans for the Riverside area of Shrewsbury.

The council has ambitions to carry out a major transformation of the entire Riverside area – demolishing a number of existing buildings to allow for the re-development.

Those sites include the Riverside Shopping Centre, the former home of Riverside Medical Practice, and Raven Meadows Multi-Storey Car Park.

Councillor Picton said that the funding would mean progress on the plans and said she expected people would see visible progress on demolishing buildings on the site by next year.

She said: "That money allows us to bring the work forward so I think we will see some significant changes down there by this time next year."

She said that planning over the scheme was ongoing – including discussions with the Environment Agency over potential flood defences for the development.

Councillor Picton said the plan would benefit not just Shrewsbury but the wider county – and again said the proposal was the main reason behind Shropshire Council's much-criticised decision to purchase the town's shopping centres.

She said: "We have talked about re-developing the town centre for a long time which is why I will always defend the purchase of the shopping centres. I am under no illusions that had we not done it we would probably now have three empty shopping centres.

"For me that whole development of the town centre is vital."

The plan for the Riverside has been years in the making.

If the scheme proceeds it will see the demolition of the Riverside Centre, as well as the nearby Raven Meadows multi-storey car park, bus station and Pride Hill Shopping Centre – which closed in 2021.

A new leisure site would replace it, with intentions for it to host a cinema, along with a new multi-agency base or 'Shirehall', a 'transport hub', up to two hotels, offices, and up to 270 homes.

When the council revealed its proposals for the area, a main feature was improving the public space, providing a destination for people to visit.

Estimates from the council say it could lead to another 750,000 people visiting every year, as well as creating 2,000 jobs.

It could also include a quayside running along the bank of the River Severn, as well as a new footbridge to replace the current one from Frankwell Car Park to Riverside.