Retail park and care home planned for Shrewsbury's former pitch and putt

In January it was revealed that Shropshire Council sold the 3.95 acre site at Meole Brace behind closed doors.

It has now been revealed that it was taken over by Cordwell Leisure who are proposing a mixed use development.

The scheme will comprise an 80 bed care home as well as a range of restaurants and other leisure uses.

Starbucks, KFC and tanning salon Indigo Sun are already signed up to the scheme, with two of the last five units under offer.

Tom Wilcox, director of Cordwell said: "We are obviously delighted to be working with Shropshire Council on this extremely high profile scheme and have received a great response from operators who are keen to be represented in this location."

The site, off the A5112, lies directly opposite the Meole Brace Retail Park which is home to Argos, Boots, Currys, McDonald’s, Next, Sainsbury's and more.

Fallen

Shropshire Council consulted on the future of the pitch and putt in 2016, stating that its preferred option was to sell the site because the number of people using the facility had fallen.

Tim Smith, the council’s head of business enterprise and commercial services, said the overall usage had dropped by 1,000 visits in the last four years from a peak of 2,590 in 2011.

In the months after the announcement of the proposed sale, the Friends of Meole Brace Golf Course submitted a letter to Shropshire Council expressing an interest in the pitch and putt as part of its rights under the site’s registration as an “asset of community value”.

The group had an opportunity to buy the land but did not proceed.

It was controversially sold to Cordwell Leisure behind closed doors earlier this year.

Under an agreement, £50,000 raised from its sale will go to the neighbouring Meole Brace Golf Course.

A pre-application has been submitted for the site with planning expected to follow late spring.

Cordwell Leisure expects construction to start later this year with a completion date of summer 2020.