Car park to open in new Telford shopping zone
It's changed the landscape of the centre of Telford – and now the first part of the £250 million Southwater development is ready to open.
The 600-space car park is poised to open up early next week, and will be soon followed by restaurants, an 85-bedroom hotel, a 11-screen cinema and a new public building housing the town's main library.
The first cars could be driving up the ramps to the car park as early as Monday and shortly afterwards the main street will be opened up, linking Telford Shopping Centre with the town park.
And at the weekend people will be able to meander through the boulevard-style streets, socialise in the urban beach scene beside the lake and admire public art.
Logos for the Premier Inn hotel and Cineworld IMAX have already made their mark on the buildings.
The iconic, gold-clad Southwater One building will be unveiled on July 14 as the new home for a library plus council customer service teams.
When complete the one-stop shop for public services will house colour-coded zones on the first floor to direct residents to the right department. The First Point, Citizens' Advice Bureau, offices for Telford & Wrekin Primary Care Trust, the Prince's Trust and a Costa coffee will all be housed under one roof.
Stairways and escalators are in place inside Southwater One and the furnishings and finishing touches will be completed in the next few weeks.
Kate Callis, Telford & Wrekin Council's assistant director for development, business and housing, said: "The Premier Inn is going to be the first to open in mid-July and probably before that the new car park should be open by June 2.
"Then it's likely to be Mimosa in front of the ice rink in mid-July and Southwater One, which is going to be July 14.
"And from June 6 the public space will start to be opened up down the main street to the ice rink and after that the third week of June."
Major high street food chains coming to Southwater include Nandos, Wagamamas, Harvester, Pizza Express, Chimichanga Zizzi and Bella Italia.
The roads around Telford town centre are also currently undergoing a multi-million pound renovation to turn them into a two-way system.
The work, part of a £12 million project to transform traffic movement across the town centre, started last autumn and is due to be finished by March next year.
