£200m vision for Telford Town Centre
Plans were today submitted for a £200 million overhaul of Telford Town Centre, a move expected to generate thousands of jobs.
The shopping centre's management team Sovereign Land has submitted an outline planning application to Telford & Wrekin Council after holding a consultation into the plans last month.
More than 1,225 people visited the public exhibition held at the beginning of July, with nearly 70 per cent completing the questionnaire coming out in favour of the proposed approach to the redevelopment.
It leaves the scheme on track for work to begin in the early part of 2014, once Asda has moved to its new home on the site of the council's former offices.
Sovereign chairman Tim Binnington said: "We were delighted with the number of people that took the time to come and view the exhibition and the very supportive response our strategy received from the public.
"This, combined with the positive nature of our ongoing discussions with the council and other stakeholders, has given us the confidence to submit the outline planning application as soon as possible.
"We received a huge number of very interesting and useful comments and suggestions from members of the public, mostly relating to detailed delivery of individual elements of the masterplan.
"If outline consent for the strategy is granted, this input will prove invaluable as we undertake the detailed design development for each phase of the scheme."
He added: "There will be further consultation as each part of the regeneration moves forward to the next stage."
The plan is expected to see the development take in four areas, beginning with the so-called Northern Quarter, Asda's current site, a new look for the Central Square, an on-street bus station replacing the current outdated one at the back of the centre, and the Southern Quarter closest to the Southwater development.
In total the new development could increase the size of the 1 million sq ft Telford Shopping Centre by as much as 80per cent, with a net increase of up to almost 400,000 sq ft of retail and nearly 250,000 sq ft of restaurants, cafés, bars and other eateries. Other proposed uses include a cinema and hotel.
The strategy also sets out principles for the scheme including the centre's integration with the rest of the town, better pedestrian routes across it, and new public squares and spaces lined with active uses such as restaurants and cafés.
New buildings at the centre's entrances are expected to improve the appearance of it for people arriving in Telford, while retail will also front onto parts of the Box Road for the first time.
Mr Binnington added: "The significant increase in the amount of retail space would allow us to provide the modern units that today's retailers want. This, together with the new restaurants, cafés and leisure uses and the many urban design improvements, will give us a critical mass to transform Telford Town Centre into a real regional retail and leisure destination."
