Giant £7m multi-storey car park for Shrewsbury town centre

The nine-storey, 459-space car park will be built between the Pride Hill and Darwin shopping centres after plans put forward by Morris Property were voted through by members of Shropshire Council's central planning committee yesterday.

But plans to build a £10 million supermarket on the site of a petrol station in Hereford Road in Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, were thrown out.

And proposals for a £3 million development including a 27-bed hotel, a pub and restaurant and a drive-thru KFC takeaway at Battlefield were deferred after new information came to light ahead of yesterday's meeting. No reason was given for the deferral.

Town leaders said the car park development, which will include a pedestrian walkway through to Pride Hill, would help the county town in its drive to boost visitor numbers by 50 per cent in the next two years.

And they said by being so close to the Raven Meadows multi-storey, it would help "promote competition" and possibly cut parking charges.

It will be built in the gap site, by Shrewsbury bus station, in place of an existing 70-space pay and display car park after nine councillors backed the plans with just two against.

Shropshire councillor Miles Kenny, for the Underdale ward, said: "By having a car park here we are offering competition to Raven Meadows and I think that is quite important because most of the car parks are owned by one landowner which doesn't promote much competition."

Developers revised the plans after concerns raised by English Heritage about blocking the view of a 15th century medieval hall, which is home to the town centre McDonald's restaurant.

But the top floor of the car park was removed and a large glass-fronted viewing platform added to its rear to allow shoppers to see the hall.

Councillors said the supermarket by plan Cheshire-based Morbaine Ltd, which would have seen a 24,000 sq ft foodstore built creating 200 jobs, would lead to increased traffic that would jeopardise the safety of Shrewsbury Town fans attending matches at the Greenhous Meadow.

Shropshire councillor Andrew Bannerman, for Quarry and Coton Hill, questioned why no traffic survey had been completed on a weekend when Shrewsbury Town were playing at the Greenhous Meadow.

But local councillor Mike Owen said: "Another supermarket in Meole Brace? You cannot be serious. We haven't even built the Waitrose in Oteley Road yet."