Councillors approve funding towards major Shrewsbury town centre redevelopment
Shropshire Council has agreed to borrow £3.7 million to match-fund £18m of government levelling up money for a major Shrewsbury town centre redevelopment project.
Councillors voted to approve the match-funding, which will be used to start work on the redevelopment of the Riverside – as well as improving the public realm around Shrewsbury Railway Station.
The ambitions for the Riverside project would transform the area.
The money will pay for parts of demolition work for the project to begin.
Addressing the full meeting of Shropshire Council on Thursday, Councillor Dean Carroll, the Conservative cabinet member for growth, regeneration and housing, said: "It is absolutely critical for the long-term place shaping and vitality of the town centre, that we can proceed swiftly and smoothly with this development."
He added: "The amount of funding we are putting in is modest to leverage in what we are receiving.
"It is very important we move ahead with this, both for Shrewsbury and the county as a whole."
Councillor Carroll also paid tribute to those who had helped secure the funding, saying: "This would not have been possible without the hard work of officers, without my predecessors, Councillor Potter and Councillor Charmley, and the MP for Shrewsbury who held six separate meetings to lobby for Shrewsbury and lay out how important this development is for the town."
In total the council will borrow £3.793m at an annual cost of £269,000.
Opposition councillors from the Liberal Democrats and Labour both spoke in support of the motion, which was passed.
The ambitions for the transformation of Riverside area will see the demolition of a number of existing buildings to allow for the redevelopment.
Those sites include the Riverside Shopping Centre, the former home of Riverside Medical Practice, and Raven Meadows Multi-Storey Car Park.
Under the plans, a new leisure site would replace it, with intentions for it to host a cinema, along with a new multi-agency base or 'Shirehall', a 'transport hub', up to two hotels, offices and up to 270 homes.
When the council revealed its proposals for the area, a main feature was improving the public space, providing a destination for people to visit.
Estimates from the council say it could lead to another 750,000 people visiting every year, as well as creating 2,000 jobs.
It could also include a quayside running along the bank of the River Severn, as well as a new footbridge to replace the current one from Frankwell Car Park to Riverside.
