Shrewsbury town centre car park to shut as work on student accommodation starts

Shropshire Council has announced the Tannery car park in St Austin's Street will close on Sunday as work gets underway to deliver the next phase of the town's student accommodation.

The car park will close, be fenced off and contractors will then move in to demolish the former study centre building which currently stands on the site.

Plans for the accommodation for University Centre Shrewsbury students were approved last year.

The project will see the blocks of accommodation built on a phased basis. Shropshire Council, as the freehold owner of the site, will take the lead in the development with its construction partner Morris Property.

The intention is to complete the first phase of accommodation to increase the provision to match the potential increase in student numbers over coming years.

The new accommodation will sit alongside the existing student accommodation at Mardol House in Shrewsbury town centre.

Tim Smith, head of business, enterprise and commercial services, with Shropshire Council, said: "This new accommodation will support the redevelopment of the west end of Shrewsbury town centre and will be a significant improvement for the area."

Paul Kirkbright, University Centre Shrewsbury deputy provost, said he was looking forward to seeing the development get underway.

He said: "This first-class student accommodation being constructed by our partners at Shropshire Council is within sight of our main teaching centre.

"This is another significant step in the development of University Centre Shrewsbury, one we're confident will bring long and lasting benefit to the people of Shrewsbury and Shropshire."

The new accommodation could house more than 200 students when all the phases are completed.

The project was unveiled in August 2015 and was initially intended to be completed in time for the start of the 2016/17 term.

However, in February last year, both the council and University Centre Shrewsbury said they were putting the plans on hold while they assessed the number of students expected to join the institution.

James West, chief operating officer at Morris Property, said: "We are very much looking forward to working closely with Shropshire Council on what is an important and exciting project for the town.

"We will be working to create modern, bespoke accommodation for future UCS students."