Telford town centre spruce-up ready to welcome shoppers back
It is normally one of the busiest parts of the county, but with lockdown still in place, a council is taking the chance to carry out some major work.
The pavement which runs through the middle of Southwater in Telford town centre is being replaced due to defects that have seen the paving slabs cracking.
The work is being timed to make sure the area is ready to reopen and welcome back the expected visitors when non-essential retail reopens on April 12.
Town centres across the county are likely to see some moderations as lockdown lifts, in a similar way to last summer where pavements were widened to give people more space for social distancing.
Telford & Wrekin Council said the paving is being replaced with a “tarmac based solution in a mid-grey”. The council said it also has a number of plans to prepare for the reopening of non-essential retail and will be running a Loyal to Local campaign to encourage people to support local businesses.
Streets up and down the county have been quiet for months as lockdown has again led to barren town centres, but preparations are underway to welcome people back when restrictions lift.
In some places those preparations are more noticeable than others and one of the county's busiest areas has been getting a major re-fit ahead of April 12 – the date the government has set for the opening of most 'non essential' shops.
The main paving at Southwater in Telford Town Centre, is being completely replaced by a team taking advantage of the quieter days to complete the work.
The area, which leads to Telford Town Park, Telford Shopping Centres, and a number of restaurants, is undergoing major refurbishment to get it ready to welcome back shoppers and visitors.
In pre-covid times it would welcome thousands of visitors a day and Telford & Wrekin Council said it was taking the opportunity of lockdown to replace paving suffering from "an ongoing defect".
The situation had led to slabs cracking and breaking up.
A spokesman for the council said it would be replacing the slabs with fresh material, which would be more suitable for the area.
The work is expected to last for two weeks and is being timed to be complete when the area fully reopens on April 12.
The spokesman said: "The paving is being replaced following an ongoing defect which has seen the paving slabs slowly cracking and breaking up over time.
"The paving is being replaced with tarmac based solution in a mid-grey which should be more suitable for this particular area which is also a delivery access route for commercial vehicles to the restaurants."
The council said it was also using the opportunity to put a number of new bins in place, with the spokesman adding: "We are also replacing some of the bins in that area which had rusted badly.
"We acquired these in previous years and have been waiting to install them when we did the re-surface."
Plans
Work is also taking place across Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire to prepare towns for welcoming visitors back.
Last year the return from lockdown saw streets in some towns closed to traffic, or made one-way, in an effort to provide wider walkways for pedestrians and allow them to socially distance.
Shrewsbury closed its High Street to traffic from 11am to 4pm.
Shropshire Council is currently preparing a variety of plans for towns across the county although has not confirmed details yet.
Earlier this month a group of volunteers set up a "great big spring clean" in Bridgnorth, to help get the town ready for reopening to the public.
The event saw dozens of volunteers scrub shop windowsills, wash benches and bins and tidy up roads, footpaths and pavements.
The community-minded residents were largely a part of the revived Bridgnorth Litter Picking Club, and worked throughout the day in Low Town and High Town, while giving a special focus to the Majestic Cinema.
Telford & Wrekin Council has it is also planning a new 'Loyal to Local' campaign, to begin on April 12, aiming to increase footfall while highlighting the importance of shopping locally, as well as parking remaining free across all Telford and Wrekin high street car parks until May 10.
