Call for car park to be built on Shrewsbury student halls site

Shropshire Council's deputy portfolio holder for income generation is calling for the former Tannery at Barker Street, Shrewsbury, to be demolished and turned into a car park until a scheme to build the student accommodation begins.

Councillor Peter Nutting, who represents Copthorne, said: "I have been asked to come up with ways of helping to generate income for the council and one of the ideas is that we could make money by turning the site into a car park before it is developed.

"It seems to me it won't be needed for student accommodation for at least two or three years and in the intervening period I would like to knock it down, put a cheap layer of something on the surface, and use it as a car park.

"It will need to be demolished somewhere along the line and getting rid of it would certainly improve the vista around there."

In February, plans to build halls for about 200 University Centre Shrewsbury students were put on hold while the number of expected students was assessed.

The university, which welcomed its first intake of undergraduates last September, has said it expects to have about 200 students studying at the institution from this autumn.

The proposal to build the halls, from Morris Guildhall Student Partnership, was approved by Shropshire Council's Central Planning Committee last October. The site, which includes the former sixth form college, is jointly owned by Shropshire Council and Morris Property.

Shropshire Council's cabinet is scheduled to consider and update on accommodation at University Centre Shrewsbury on July 13, although the matter is listed as exempt and will not be publicly available.

Steph Jackson, Shropshire Council's head of commercial services, said: "It is anticipated that, once complete, the report will contain commercial information, hence its exemption."

Councillor Nutting said that demolishing the current building would also remove a liability for the authority.

He said: "It is alright leaving it there as a building but it becomes a liability for rough sleepers or kids get in, and it is the council's responsibility. If it is not there then that is not a possibility."

Councillor Alan Mosley, leader of Shrewsbury Town Council and representative of Castlefields and Ditherington, gave his backing to the suggestion, branding the current building an "eyesore".