£12 million Shrewsbury revamp to make town more pedestrian friendly will get under way

The works, which form part of the Shrewsbury Integrated Transport Plan, follow a consultation held in Shrewsbury last February.

Plans to renew paving in Pride Hill have been scaled back due to public opinion and a proposal to reduce lanes on the English Bridge from three to two have been abandoned.

Shropshire Council is funding the project, which will will take five years to complete, through a mixture of budgets from local developer contributions and the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership regional growth fund.

The plans aim to stop drivers using the town centre as a through route, and to make better use of the town's outer and inner ring roads instead via improved interactive signage.

At the same time, a number of improvements are planned for the town centre to make it more attractive and appealing for pedestrians and make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to access the town centre and find their way around.

Drawn up by Shropshire Council and its contractor Mouchel, with the support of Shrewsbury BID and Shrewsbury Vision, the plans have been approved by the Department for Transport.

Matt Johnson, strategic transport and contracts manager for Shropshire Council, said: "This scheme will bring benefits for the town, for pedestrians, motorists, shoppers, cyclists and businesses as well as residents.

"The town has a large amount of through traffic. This plan will remove unnecessary traffic from the town centre which in turn will improve air quality whilst also improving the street scape."

"We will rebalance the focus between the motorist and the pedestrians.

"In certain areas there is a feeling that people are leaving the town, such as in Roushill, Wyle Cop and English Bridge. We want to extend the feeling of the town and will be doing this with road surfaces and improved walk ways."

Meole Brace roundabout will be the first to be redesigned. Work is expected to start in December. A cycle path and footway will cut across the busy thoroughfare providing a link with established pathways.