Behind-closed-doors talks today over future of Shrewsbury town centre
A behind-closed-doors meeting to discuss council plans for Shrewsbury town centre was taking place today.
Shropshire Council's cabinet was meeting to discuss the exempt report, believed to relate to Shrewsbury's shopping centres, at 1pm.
The secret report was initially only available to councillors to read in a hard copy at Shirehall. However, subsequent discussions saw councillors allowed to view the report via a password protected e-mail link – to prevent details of the paper being revealed.
Councillors were also briefed on the content of the plans at a meeting last week.
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) hold a long lease of the centre.
Standard Life Investments are the asset managers for UKCPT, which also owns the Darwin and Pride Hill centres.
Speaking in December Steve Charmley Shropshire Council deputy leader and portfolio holder for corporate support said that 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."
