THE STORY SO FAR
Plans for the redevelopment of this area of Shrewsbury town centre have taken shape over several years, responding to the challenging retail market and its impact on the three primary shopping centres – Pride Hill, Riverside and The Darwin.
January 2018
The three Shrewsbury shopping centres were purchased by Shropshire Council. This gave the Council overarching control over their futures and has helped pave the way for future redevelopment of the riverside area to facilitate the economic growth and desired regeneration of the town centre.
March 2021
Building on the priorities established in the Big Town Plan published in 2018, the Shrewsbury Masterplan vision highlighted Smithfield Riverside as one of six character areas with a unique identity that would contribute to the regeneration of the town centre as a whole. The masterplan vision was developed with feedback from stakeholder engagement workshops focusing on each of the character areas.
February 2022
The Smithfield Riverside Strategic Development Framework (SDF) is adopted by Shropshire Town Council, having been finalised following public consultation.
November 2022
Regeneration specialists Rivington Hark were appointed by Shropshire Council in November 2022 as the development manager to lead the regeneration of Smithfield and Riverside areas.
January 2023
A successful bid award for Levelling Up funding sees funding awarded to two projects helping to transform Shrewsbury Town Centre, one of which is Smithfield Riverside. The funding award means practical work can now start on the redevelopment of the area.
June 2023
The full project team is assembled, with Shropshire Council and Rivington Hark appointing Faulkner Browns Architects to lead on design. Tasked with developing a high-quality outline masterplan for Smithfield Riverside, they work alongside landscape architects Spacehub.
October 2023
The project team held an initial round of public consultation on our vision for Smithfield Riverside and the plans for a new park on Roushill. We heard from people all around Shropshire and used your feedback to develop our plans further.
Click here for a summary of the feedback we received as part of this consultation.
December 2023
Informed by our consultation in October, the first of four planning applications was submitted for consideration. This application contained our detailed plans for Riverside Gardens.
August 2024
Demolition works to the former Riverside Shopping Centre began, a milestone that marked the first visible signs of change as part of the scheme. To help mark the milestone and reflect on Shropshire’s past, the joint initiative from Shropshire Council and Shropshire Archives ‘Riverside Remembered’ asked the public to help them to begin compiling a history of the area over the past 50 years by sharing their memories of the old shopping centre.
September 2025 – present
Work continues to deliver the new green space at Riverside Gardens. This has included the demolition of the Roushill side Frankwell Bridge steps and the addition of a temporary ramp, which will remain in place while construction works are ongoing.