Salopians welcome plans to transform Shrewsbury's Riverside

Sounds like a glorious day out, and it could be the future in Shrewsbury if ambitious plans to revamp the riverside go ahead.

But first, there will be a lot of bulldozing and building to get through.

This week, Shropshire Council shared plans to demolish the Riverside and Pride Hill shopping centres, as well as the bus station and Raven Meadows car park.

In their place would be a new leisure site, with intentions for it to host a cinema, a new multi-agency base or 'Shirehall', a 'transport hub', hotels, offices, and up to 270 homes.

There would also be a quayside, created so people could walk and relax in the area.

The council estimates it could lead to another 750,000 people visiting every year, as well as creating 2,000 jobs.

We asked a handful of Salopians what they think of the proposals, and whether they would make them more or less keen to visit to town centre.

Retired teacher Gill Head believes focus should be given to improve the shopping options. Project leaders have said more attention needs to be paid to leisure compared to retail, given how online shopping has boomed and been accelerated by the pandemic.

Gill said: "They're going to have to look at doing something. We can't just have a town with coffee shops. You're not going to have any people come to town if there isn't any retail.

"We are lucky with the independent shops we have like all the ones down Wyle Cop. It's just the town centre. There's nothing much here.

"They (Shropshire Council) have spent all the money buying the shopping centres. I just wonder if this will ever come to fruition."

Mark William Creamer, who is from Manchester originally but moved to Shrewsbury to be closer to family, thinks the town has a high street which is doing well.

He said: "I heard about the riverside development and I wasn't sure what was happening with it. It would be nice to make more of the river. To be fair though, Shrewsbury has a very busy high street compared to a lot of places. I think it's beautiful."

But he was concerned about parking, especially given project leaders believe the new development will lead to 750,000 more visitors a year.

"It's just the parking," he said. "That's a massive issue. There aren't enough spaces now. I know they're talking about 400 more spaces, but if they're getting rid of the multi-storey, will it be enough?

"It's brilliant news, but where are these three quarters of a million people going to park? It could put people off."

Sarah Rees went to school in Shrewsbury, and returns occasionally to see her parents from her home in Abergavenny. She feels a sense of nostalgia about the place, and isn't keen on things changing.

"To see the development coming up is quite exciting, but I am quite old fashioned. I like to go into a shop and feel and touch something before I buy it. I'm quite a tactile person.

"Every time I come back something has changed or a shop isn't there anymore and I find it really sad. I like things to stay the same.

"They say 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', but clearly they think something is broken if more people are trying online shopping."

Mark Stephenson, a retired sales manager from Pontesbury, is up for the riverside overhaul.

He said: "A promenade with bars and restaurants sounds good to me. It would be good to make more of the river because there's nothing at the moment. If the council can make that happen, I'd be all for it. Sounds good to me."

Emily Merritt and Daily Llewellyn, both 21 and from Shrewsbury, would be keen for a bit of fresh life to be breathed into the town centre.

Emily said: "I think it sounds really cool. I'd rather have that than the shopping centres that are pretty dead all the time."

Daisy was a bit more sceptical about whether the project will go ahead, saying: "I think I first heard about this in 2012. There's a lot of building to do. It would be good though. There needs to be more things to do as well. I like the idea of a cinema."