UK Commercial Property Trust unveils big plans for Shrewsbury

6th Feb 2012 08:15

UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCPT) has unveiled plans for a £150m redevelopment of Shrewsbury town centre, Shropshire, combining its three shopping centres into a single, combined centre called New Riverside. UKCPT has submitted a planning application to Shropshire Council, requesting permission for the regeneration project, which will includes the demolition of the existing Riverside centre and the construction of a new 225,000 sq ft centre that will be integrated with the Darwin and Pride Hall centres and provide stronger links to the town centre. The plans include a new department store, 50 new shops, 10 restaurants, offices and car parking. Subject to planning consent being achieved and the signing of pre-lets with tenants, the redevelopment is scheduled for completion in 2016. UKCPT believes that Shrewsbury has significant potential as a retail destination, as a sub-regional county town with a large, affluent catchment area, where no new retail space has been built in the past 20 years. The planning application followed a period of consultation with the council as well as a public exhibition, during which the plans were extremely well received. Christopher Hill, Chairman of UKCPT, said: "The New Riverside project in Shrewsbury is a significant project for UKCPT, and a transformational scheme for the town. The board of UKCPT will assess all options for the progression of the scheme to best create shareholder value." The share price fell 0.07% to 74.85p by 08:30.NR