Shrewsbury Riverside plans: Historic England 'disappointed' with lack of engagement, warns of 'potential harm'
Historic England has warned the latest plans for Shrewsbury's Riverside regeneration could cause harm to the character of the historic town centre.
The latest plans for the next stage of the Shrewsbury Riverside regeneration project have come under fire from Historic England.
The ambitious project seeks to transform the area between the River Severn, the Darwin Centre and Roushill in the town centre.
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The first stage of the project, which includes the demolition of the Riverside shopping centre and the building of a new public park, is currently underway having been approved last year.
The second outline planning application, which seeks to secure the principle of development for three key plots located between Smithfield Road, Raven Meadows and the new park on Roushill, is set to go before councillors at a committee meeting next week.
Shortly after plans were submitted, Shrewsbury Civic Society raised "major concerns" about the latest designs, slating the designs as "more reminiscent of a good quality suburban business park".
While Historic England has previously welcomed plans for the redevelopment, it too has raised several concerns over the latest plans.
A large part of its concerns are centred on the scale of the proposed developments. While the latest plans have proposed a maximum building height that has been reduced by one storey, Historic England has warned the vast development could damage Shrewsbury's historic skyline.
Harriet Halliday, assistant inspector of ancient monuments for Historic England, said the reduction in maximum building height was "constructive" but warned that the three buildings together would "dominate the landscape in comparison with existing historic buildings in the near vicinity".
The inspector continued: "The tallest building is comparable in height to the current Darwin Shopping Centre, which is in itself an overbearing structure within the streetscene.
"This would therefore essentially flatten the current historic topography and remove the ability to understand the raised nature of the historic town centre and its historic topography.
"The introduction of such large buildings in this location would also result in the occasional obscurity and competition between the church spires of St Mary’s and St Alkmund’s which contribute significantly to the character of the conservation area and are an important element of the skyline and roofscape of Shrewsbury in views from the river."
The inspector also raised concerns over the vicinity of the largest building to the town wall scheduled monument, to the south of 'The Gap' car park.
The letter continued: "There has been an unfortunate history in Shrewsbury of nationally important sections of town wall being destroyed or degraded in order to facilitate new development. This is a once in a generation opportunity for comprehensive redevelopment to better reveal the relationship between the walled town and the river, building value within the scheme.
"The current Riverside Shopping Centre detracts from the setting of the scheduled wall and causes harm. This redevelopment offers an opportunity to improve on this and better reveal the significance of the monument.
"The proposed building configuration and design would enclose the monument, removing any visual links between the river and preventing the appreciation of the scheduled wall from anywhere other than its direct vicinity. This would reduce the ability to understand the monument and its historic context as an elevated defensive structure, constructed to defend the town from riverside offences."
Concluding, the inspector said Historic England welcomed the redevelopment of the "underused area of Shrewsbury" but "remained disappointed" that there had not been "more substantive engagement" with its advice.
Adding: "Historic England has concerns regarding the application and the potential for harm to be caused to the significance of the scheduled town wall and the character of the conservation area and we are not able to support the proposals as they stand."
Despite the concerns, the outline application is being recommended for approval when it goes before Shropshire Council's northern planning committee next Tuesday, April 22.
In the documents, the council planning officers determine the proposals "would not cause effects or impacts to the surrounding environmental conditions that would be significant, subject to mitigation and secured through conditions".
The full application can be found online on Shropshire Council's planning portal using reference number 24/04476/EIA.
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