Shropshire Star

Secret talks on future of Shrewsbury being held by Shropshire Council

Shropshire Council's cabinet will be holding a behind-closed-doors discussion on plans for Shrewsbury town centre.

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Shrewsbury town centre

The cabinet meeting, which is not open to members of the public, takes place next Wednesday and has been specially arranged to discuss the matter – believed to relate to Shrewsbury's shopping centres.

The report has been shrouded in secrecy and was initially only available to councillors to read in a hard copy at Shirehall. However, subsequent discussions have seen councillors allowed to view the report via a password protected email link – to prevent details of the paper being revealed.

It is understood that councillors are being offered a briefing on the report today when the majority will already be present at Shirehall for a meeting of the full council.

The 'Shrewsbury Town Centre' report was initially discussed by the cabinet on July 12 but was deferred pending a future date.

Shrewsbury's shopping centres, The Riverside, Pride Hill, and The Darwin Centre were the focus of a plan for a multi-million redevelopment which was placed on hold in 2013.

The original plan was for a redeveloped Riverside centre to be linked with the town's other two shopping centres, with a large department store as an "anchor tenant".

Shropshire Council owns the freehold of the Riverside Centre, and UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCPT) holds a long lease of the centre.

Standard Life Investments are the asset managers for UKCPT.

Speaking in December, Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council deputy leader and portfolio holder for corporate support said the authority had not given up on the scheme and was still in conversations with its owners.

He said: "The council continues to work with Standard Life Investments on their preparation of alternative proposals for the Riverside Shopping Centre in Shrewsbury."

When asked about its plans for the site last week, UKCPT said there was no update to the current situation.

Earlier this year the company objected to proposals for a new Sports Direct store at Meole Brace.

The objection letter indicated that a refurbishment plan is still a long-held ambition.

It stated: "These centres are the subject of a major proposed redevelopment scheme. This major town centre redevelopment is a long held aspiration of the local planning authority, supported by the development plan policies, to improve the retail offer within Shrewsbury town centre and its market share."