Start-up shops sign up for Shrewsbury units
New businesses have moved into a nearly-empty Shrewsbury shopping centre and are getting ready to open their doors.
The move is a real boost for the Riverside Shopping Centre in Shrewsbury, which had been left with just two of its units occupied after a spate of closures.
Shrewsbury-based company Image Match UK was handed the keys to the centre earlier this year with the aim of bringing in start-up businesses to run alongside the two remaining shops – Wilkinsons and Cool Trader.
Although the project has been slow in getting off the ground due to a number of teething issues, shops including an ice cream parlour are beginning to take shape.
Councillor Jon Tandy, former mayor of Shrewsbury, has been involved in the project from the start. He said: "We had a surge of applicants come forward brimming with ideas. There were difficulties when we first moved in and now I think practically every unit is taken.
Redundancy
"These are people who may have had redundancy money and want to start up on their own. They want that opportunity to have a stab at running their own business.
"We should be open by next month and people are still coming forward with ideas. We have a cafe, a rug shop, an ice cream parlour, a jewellery shop, a retro bar – there will be lots of choice for customers.
"We believe that the arrival of new shops will also mean jobs will soon become available, especially for the long-term unemployed.
"It means things will have come full circle and people will be giving others a chance."
He added: "It's buzzing here, there are people who may have been doing business from their living room and now they have a solid base. The town, in turn, will have more revenue and more atmosphere."
It was first thought that the centre would not be up and running before December because of ongoing issues with internet and heating.
The intention is for the start-up shops to remain in the centre until March 2017, when they will give way to plans for a massive redevelopment of the site.
