First stage of transformational Shrewsbury town centre redevelopment approved

The proposal, from Shropshire Council, is the first step in long-awaited ambitious proposals to completely re-shape the Riverside area of the town.

The authority's Northern Planning Committee approved the first phase of the plan at its meeting on Tuesday afternoon, with councillors unanimously backing the proposal.

The approved application gives the council permission to demolish the Riverside Shopping Centre and the former Riverside Medical Practice, and allows for the creation of a new park running alongside Roushill.

Presenting the application to the committee, planning officer John Shaw, said the park would include a play area, a lawned space with an amphitheatre to provide a venue for performances.

The committee heard that later stages of the planned redevelopment could see the creation of a 'multi-agency hub', offices, homes, and potentially a cinema and hotel.

Members were reminded that the application for consideration only related to the demolition and creation of the park – and not later stages of the scheme.

Mr Shaw said the council considered the benefits of the proposal to be "significant".

He added that the plans were designed to ensure that they do not make flooding issues, which frequently affect Smithfield Road, any worse.

The committee was also told that part of the approval provides for the examination of potential Civil War defences, which were identified during the construction of the medical practice in the 1980s.

Committee member Councillor Steve Charmley, who was part of a council delegation which promoted the site for redevelopment some years ago, described the plan as a "great scheme" and urged his colleagues to vote for its approval.

He said: "I am very pleased to see this site coming forward at last. I think it was five years ago I was promoting this site at Cannes when I had the economic growth portfolio, and it has been a long journey since.

"It looks like a great scheme to kick the site off and I fully support it."

Councillor Julian Dean said the council was taking a 'sensible' approach by looking to carry out the wider Riverside scheme in phases – rather than all at once.

The meeting also heard of the history of the site, with planning consent previously granted for a shopping centre and a department store.

Those plans were abandoned, with the current proposals gradually being developed by the council following the purchase of the Darwin and Pride Hill shopping centres.

Committee chairman, Councillor Vince Hunt, said: "I think the world has changed a bit since the original one was proposed."