Heaven by the Severn or a waste of money? Salopians have their say
Ambitious plans for Shrewsbury’s town centre riverside have got people talking, but would it be heaven by the Severn if they come to fruition?
More details were released last month on how the Smithfield Road area could be transformed under the Big Town Plan.
In the Smithfield Development Framework document, images showed parks and gardens in place of the current road, a striking new Frankwell bridge, a narrower new road surround by shops and cafes which would be further back from the river, and a “stairway to Severn” running from the riverside up to Pride Hill.
The Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partnership is keen to turn the area into an attractive place for people to visit, and they have been keen to get the opinions of Salopians. But what do they think?
Martin Palmer, who is store manager of Hotel Chocolat on Pride Hill, is keen to see something created to make use of the river as an attraction.
He said: “I think it’s a great idea. I don’t think we make enough of the river. I’d like to see riverside gardens. We’ve got the Quarry, which is fantastic, and this could be an extension of that.”
He added: “I live in Whittington and there are lots of nice places for walks there. In town we’ve got the Quarry but this would encourage more people to go for walks in town.”
TV researcher George Hepworth also likes the sound of the development, but doesn’t know whether moving the road further back and introducing the North West Relief Road would be the answer to traffic problems.
Traffic was busy along Smithfield Road as we chatted on the Frankwell bridge, even with current Covid-19 restrictions in place.
He said: “I don’t know whether moving the road further back would really make much of a difference. It does seem like a waste of the riverside to just have a road here.
“I think other towns make more of being by the river.”
He added that he’d be more encouraged to visit the town centre and spend time with friends if the riverside was more attractive.
Retired Walter Edmond is sceptical about how the money will be spent and how the end product would look – citing Theatre Severn and the Quantum Leap as examples he has been less that impressed with.
He and wife Mary live on the Frankwell side of the river.
“From our bedroom window we’ve got a wonderful view of a carbuncle of a theatre. I think it’s one of the worst buildings to look at.
“As long as they don’t waste money like they did on that Darwin statue (the Quantum Leap). You can’t even see it behind all those trees. But maybe you will after they do the work.
“We do need modernisation here and it would be good if they could make it nice by the riverside. It would be great, but I can’t really imagine it.”
Mary feels a bit more positive about it, and was quite impressed with some of the artists impressions showing how the riverside could look.
“I’ve seen some of them. They look really good. We love Shrewsbury.”
Walter also urged caution in terms of how flooding could impact any development.
