Shropshire Council to spend £300 million to boost local economy

The authority has already invested about £50m in Shrewsbury's shopping centres and plans to invest about £20m in Shirehall.

It today revealed plans to spent £10m on two new medical practices in Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, and student accommodation in Shrewsbury.

It also plans to invest in housing, according to its updated corporate plan which will go to a cabinet meeting tomorrow.

The report says the council intends to invest in housing "which meets the needs and requirements of local communities" and areas earmarked as priorities for economic growth.

The council says that the creation of new medical centres will create "new community hubs with integrated housing, health and care provision".

It comes after Shropshire Council pulled out of a deal that would have allowed the building of a 'super surgery' in Shrewsbury. Plans had been submitted by the council by Riverside Medical Practice to move into a new building that would have served more than 10,000 town centre patients.

The council had agreed in principle to sell the land to the medics, but following the acquisition of the town’s three shopping centres by Shropshire Council, the authority decided not to sell the site.

Shropshire Council finalised the purchase of the Charles Darwin and Pride Hill shopping centres and the leasehold of the Riverside Shopping Centre earlier this year. The authority also bought the leasehold of the Riverside Medical Practice.

And in December the council's cabinet voted to renovate Shropshire Council's headquarters in Shirehall at a cost of £18.7m.

Earlier this year the council identified a funding shortfall for this financial year of more than £20m which increases to £27m in 2022/23.

£300m plan to make county fit for future

It is an investment designed to make Shropshire better equipped for the future, in work, healthcare and leisure.

Shropshire Council today revealed plans to invest £300 million on a range of projects.

Some will ensure services are fit for purpose in the future. Others are designed to bring in revenue which will help the council balance the books.

The capital projects will provide provide jobs, housing, community hubs and infrastructure for the people of Shropshire, according to the council.

It says that it must find ways to ensure it operates as “efficiently as it can” due to the current challenging financial situation.

In an updated corporate plan due to go to cabinet tomorrow, it says the county is falling behind regional and national averages in economic output from businesses and employee earnings.

So it will look to tackle this by retaining existing business, developing and retaining skills and talent and successfully attracting new inward investment from outside Shropshire.

Shropshire Council has already invested about £50m in Shrewsbury’s shopping centres. It plans to invest about £20m in Shirehall, and £10m is planned to be invested in two new medical practices in Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, and student accommodation in Shrewsbury.

The council also plans to invest in social housing, according to its corporate plan.

It says: “The council is ahead of schedule in terms of implementing the investment and capital strategy having purchased the Shrewsbury shopping centres and receiving approval from cabinet to fully refurbish the Shirehall to create a public sector hub with modern managed service offices for commercial lets which is estimated to require up to £20m of investment.”

It adds that the council intends to invest in housing “which meets the needs and requirements of local communities” and areas earmarked as priorities for economic growth.

The authority has also committed to spend £10m on designing and building student accommodation in Shrewsbury along with new medical practices in Shrewsbury and Whitchurch.

The report adds: “These will create new community hubs with integrated housing, health and care provision enhanced with digital technology to improve quality for the customer at a reduced cost to the public purse.

“The creation of community hubs will allow poorly used and poorly equipped public owned land and property to be released to support growth, reduce costs and to generate income.”

In January the authority finalised the purchase of the Charles Darwin and Pride Hill shopping centres and the leasehold of the Riverside Shopping Centre.

“The authority also bought the leasehold of the Riverside Medical Practice.

The shopping centres had been in the ownership of UK Commercial Property Trust Limited, which is advised by Standard Life Investments.

The authority has revealed that Wilkos moving into the Pride Hill Shopping Centre will be a ‘catalyst for change’, and the upper level works will be enhanced and the council will be looking at other uses for the mid-level, not just retail.

And Shrewsbury’s Darwin Shopping Centre will be the focus of ‘mid-market and aspirational retail’, following on from Primark moving in.

It has also been said that the Riverside is likely to be demolished to make way for a ‘mixed-use development’, including a car park, and the possibility of a hotel, leisure facilities, restaurants, or pubs.

The authority’s cabinet voted in December to renovate Shropshire Council’s headquarters in Shirehall at a cost of £18.7m.

Leader of the council, Councillor Peter Nutting, said he hoped the renovation work of the 1960s building, which he described as ‘tired’, would be at the forefront of moving the council in to a ‘new world’.

Shropshire Council’s cabinet will vote on agreeing the draft refreshed Corporate Plan for 2018/19 tomorrow at its meeting in Shirehall.