Frustration as Shrewsbury Pride Hill revamp rumbles on - with video
As the renovation work on Shrewsbury's Pride Hill rumbles on, shop-goers spoke of their frustrations - and hope for the results.
Bill Hurst is a Liverpool native who has lived in Shrewsbury for 22 years. He said that the work, which has seen much of the top of Pride Hill inaccessible for months, could be dangerous.
Bill, 67, said: "It’s been going on a long long time, I thought it would have been finished by now.
"It’s really impacting the town because it’s restricting people’s movement.
"It could be dangerous, how are emergency vehicles supposed to get down that way if there is a fire or something? Not that it’s likely to happen but it definitely could. It could be a catastrophe.
"I heard one woman say you have to walk like a crab to get down the passage, you almost have to go sideways."
A visitor from Welshpool said that the barriers could deter shoppers.
Charlie Cooke, 28, said: "I've been coming here to shop for a while, it is the big local shopping centre really.
"I was surprised to see all of this blocked off when I first saw it.
"It might impact on the shops here, people could come up and see it all barred off and assume it is all closed."
Baris Ulas is a Turkish genetics and evolution student, and he said that though the work made carrying luggage through Pride Hill a headache, he was eager to see the new look paving stones.
Baris, 27, said: "These pavements are already much better than the ones in Turkey! I’m looking forward to seeing it when it’s finished.
"But when you travel to Shrewsbury it is very hard to walk down the narrow passages with baggage and all that stuff."
Adam Mohammed, 22 and from Birmingham, works at the Mobile Expert shop that is partially obscured by the renovation barriers.
He said: "We opened the shop in April when this work was starting and that has had an impact. We’ve not been able to establish ourselves.
"The council has kept us informed of what has been going on, and it has been positive for us as well as negative, a 50/50 split.
"For example when we first opened people didn’t know the shop was here. People would ask for a mobile repair shop and they would be directed here, they didn’t even realise we were open behind the barrier here.
"But then at one point when the passage past us was the only way in, we had a lot of customers come into us. We’ve had our ups and our downs.
"That’s not what you want. With the noise sometimes as well you have to almost shout over the counter for the customers to hear you. I was also told when I was away for a while that there was a lot of dust with the work they were doing.
"We were told it would be done by November I think, let’s hope they get there. I’m looking forward to seeing it open again."
MORE:
Alice Lee, who lives in the town, passes through Pride Hill with her family 'two or three times a week' and spoke of her frustration.
The 30 year old said: "It is very annoying, there is a lot of disruption.
"Even if someone tries to use the cash machine up there and they have to queue it blocks up half the path. And people who are walking through window shopping for example, there isn’t enough room for them to stop and look properly.
"I’m looking forward to when it is open again."
