MASTERPLAN VISION
The masterplan is split into three clear zones, each with their own challenges and opportunities.
1. The key opportunity for this zone is to improve the link from the town centre to the riverside area through the creation of a new green space at Roushill, Riverside Gardens. This is being delivered as part of the first phase of development and will create a welcoming arrival point for those entering the town from Frankwell.
a. New public space along Roushill
b. Footbridge connection to Frankwell
c. Enabling works and preparation of the wider site for future development phases
2. A central priority for the masterplan is to ensure that the operational needs of The Darwin Centre and Premier Inn are safeguarded.
3. We envisage that the masterplan will look to deliver staged improvements to Smithfield Road so that we are able to keep in step with wider initiatives from the Big Town Plan. Ensuring the masterplan is aligned to these initiatives is a key role of the project team.
IMPROVED CONNECTIVITY
Connection to Pride Hill
The new landscaped open space at Roushill will provide a green link from the riverside right to the heart of the town. Visitors and residents using Frankwell car park will benefit from a more welcoming arrival point, with a new space to sit and relax, enhancing health and wellbeing provision.
As part of a longer-term strategy it will become a gateway and create a strong sense of place.
Smithfield Road
The emerging masterplan will also look to deliver landscape enhancements outside of Riverside Gardens. For example, improvements could be made to the northern and southern sides of Smithfield Road.
Over time and in step with wider Big Town Plan and Shrewsbury Moves initiatives, the masterplan will consider longer‑term measures to calm Smithfield Road and improve accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.
Application Two (24/04476/EIA) covers the outline scale and massing of buildings in the centre of the site, and was approved in April 2025 in support of the next phases of the Vision.