The changing face of Telford town centre

Walking out of the back of the shopping centre, you now find yourself confronted by hoardings, with windows through which you can peer at the rubble-strewn patch of land where once stood Southwater Lake.

The view is now preparing for a further transformation, and 2013 will be the year that takes place.

Southwater Square will be at the heart of the much-vaunted night-time economy which will bring a whole new dimension to the town centre.

Now, the Southwater Lake with its slatted wooden decking, once home to Canada geese, has been sucked dry and filled with aggregate.

And while work on the site might appear relatively reserved, the amount of groundwork that has been achieved since the lake was drained means that the four- and five-storey buildings which will cover its former home will go up at a fair rate of knots during 2013.

Kate Turner, programme manager for Telford & Wrekin Council's Telford town centre team, is anticipating a rapid pace of construction.

She said: "Behind the blue hoarding is what was Southwater Square, where there wasn't a huge amount going on. We are now going to see the start of these new buildings coming out of the ground.

"We will see stacks of activity in 2013. With all these developments people are amazed at how long it takes to get to site, but once you're there things will move very quickly.

"All the developments we see will really be completed by early 2014, and they will be impressive buildings in their scale, at around five storeys high, and architecturally some will be quite different from what we have seen in Telford."

In the past, the lack of places to eat and drink when the shops close in the centre of Telford has been a stick with which to thrash the town.

Come early 2013, when people leave the back of the shopping centre, after passing the new Iceland store and existing Wilkinsons which will be in place beside the exit, the next shopfront you see will be Pizza Express, straight in front of you.

Beside that, leading you around to the right of the new Southwater Square, will be Zizzi, Chimichanga, Harvester and then the new 11-screen Cineworld.

On your left, you will find a new eight-level multi-storey car park, followed by Bella Italia, then Nando's, Wagamama, and a new Premier Inn.

This is the first phase of the Southwater development, and it is all booked out.

In front of you is what is being called the new community hub, containing certain council services, a cafe, and various charities and emergency services including Citizens Advice Bureau, Prince's Trust and PCT.

And to carry on through the square and past the hotel, heading for the newly-refurbished ice rink, you pass one of the newer buildings, which is already approaching completion.

The new frontage to the bowling alley and bingo halls will provide another shopfront, and has attracted the interest of other, as yet unnamed restaurant groups.

Yet the building has sprung up almost by stealth – no longer on a true thoroughfare while work blocks of the pathway to the International Centre (which has also undergone investment to fit in with the changing Telford landscape – it has been erected in a few short months since the summer.

Beyond it, another restaurateur is hovering a wet fountain pen over a contract to fill another slot, on the corner of the new ice rink.

Meanwhile, behind the distinctive purple boards opposite lies a patch of development land which could create a whole new set of opportunities – not to mention a rare set of town centre homes.

In the meantime, that will be an open access to the town park, which will enjoy a facelift of its own and a new lake as part of the process of transforming the south side of the town centre.

As yet, the phase 2 area does not have specific planning permission, but represents the first tranche of 330 homes that were incorporated into planning approval for the whole scheme – others are likely to arrive later in Malinslee and nearby areas of town.

Ms Turner added: "We are looking at a mixed use development with bars, restaurants, and shops on the ground floor, and restaurants above it, but we are also looking to deliver apartments in the town centre which we haven't done previously.

"The restaurants we have got are the cinema regulars, but what we also need something to make Telford town centre a bit different, and I think independent retailers and restaurants are a key part of that.

"We have tried to target them with marketing, and we have identified people we would like to see in here. For some it's confidence that we will deliver, but with all the tenants we look to offer some kind of incentive like rent-free period, or contributions to fit-out costs.

"We don't want to recreate the shopping centre, but we want affordability for independent retailers, and we can be competitive for those kind of people."

Telford's profile outside the town is not universally favourable, it's fair to say.

The model of the new town – not to mention the legend of the coffee cup ring which inspired its central design – lead to sneering comments from many outsiders who glance in.

So how far can the Southwater development reshape the town's profile?

Ms Turner is a newcomer to the borough, and says she had heard similar sentiments.

"I think it will go a huge way to overcoming that feeling," she added.

"I moved to Telford, but had my reservations about it because there isn't anywhere to go out in the evening.

"There's a huge proportion of the population in Telford that want the same thing, and what is great is that you can come here and spend money, but there's lots to do for free, and it will be a great space for people to spend time in.

"Southwater is trying to link the town with the park. We are talking about jobs and growth and inward investment, but if we don't get people wanting to live here it has failed and Southwater has to go a long way to addressing that."

Telford is unusual among similar-sized UK towns and cities to have such a scheme still in place and moving forward at its planned pace.

The regeneration scheme will clock in at approximately £250 million, with cash coming in from the Homes and Communities Agency, and most excitingly, the private sector.

The ice rink has already reopened – although work is still ongoing – after a £4 million facelift, while a soft play area in its corner opens up a new set of opportunities for parents who might not in the past have brought young children into the town.

"Getting that money out of London is so hard at the moment, but we have done it," Ms Turner said.