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STCRA
Shrewsbury Town Centre Residents' Association

Policies

Our Policies for the Town Centre
(Adopted November 2002, amended 2005)

Commerce and Trade

We strongly advocate the following:

  • reversal of the trend towards out of town shopping and support for smaller specialist shops and businesses;
  • greater promotion of Shrewsbury as a cultural and historic centre;
  • support for initiatives that focus on areas of decay, while taking care that new developments do not detract from existing facilities in the town centre.

Traffic and Transport

We advocate a comprehensive, long-term, time-tabled plan to improve accessibility without increasing dependence on the private car, thus minimising adverse effects on the environment, improving safety, enhancing the historic character and improving facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.

We believe that:

  • Congestion and pollution
    Traffic congestion should be addressed in a broader planning context. Signing of exit/entry points and accurate information on parking are needed at key points on major entry roads.
    Cross-town through-traffic should be reduced. Diverting the same volume of traffic within the river loop is not a solution.
    There should be no trunk road within the river loop.
    The use of public transport, both by bus and train, is essential to gain access to the town centre. There should be a small, environmentally-friendly bus linking the car parks and the station with the shopping streets.
    Park and Ride is beneficial and should be subsidised. The current fleet of buses should be changed for smaller, less polluting ones that fit more comfortably on narrow streets.
  • Parking
    Adequate parking on the periphery of the town centre is essential, but we do not support the provision of more public parking spaces within the river loop.
    There should be little need for local traffic to cross town searching for parking spaces. A key proposal is for traffic entering the town centre to leave by the same route, with shoppers and visitors encouraged to use the nearest car park to their point of entry.
    Drivers should be discouraged from parking on-street through higher charges and shorter periods.
    There should be a greater differential in parking charges between park and ride car parks and those at the edge of the river loop.
    More attention needs to be given to the enforcement of on-street parking regulations.
  • Heavy vehicles
    Parking for lorries should be provided outside the town centre, including facilities for off-loading into smaller vehicles.
  • Pedestrians and safety
    The pedestrian area should be extended and more attention given to prevent the illegal passage and parking of vehicles.
    Pedestrian protection is urgently needed on roads where there are currently no lights or crossings and where traffic lights have no pedestrian option.
    The 20-mile-per-hour zone should be extended to the west end and eventually should apply to the whole town centre.

Leisure, Recreation, the Arts

We believe that the recreational facilities available in Shrewsbury should be sensitively developed to provide variety and to cater for a growing number of people who live nearby or visit the town.

We support:

  • better use of 'natural' facilities such as the Quarry Park, whilst protecting the rural corridor of the river and its banks. A wider appreciation of the potential of the river as a leisure facility and visitor attraction, and more facilities for boating, fishing, or cycling;
  • more imaginative children's play areas, and the use of existing facilities such as swimming baths, and clubs devoted to bowling, tennis, and rowing;
  • the existence of a Theatre, Concert Hall, Cinema, and provision for the display of Art within the town centre;
  • greater advantage of our cultural heritage be taken in educating young people;
  • catering for a wider spectrum of residents and visitors;
  • the Square becoming the cultural hub and meeting point of the town centre with the existing Old Market Hall, Music Hall, Tourist Information Centre, shops, pubs, and cafes complementing each other.

The Resident Community

A healthy town centre requires a strong residential community within it. Such a community needs the provision of services, careful planning, and adequate security.

We advocate:

  • a range of housing, to include units large enough for families and those suitable for first time buyers or single people;
  • the provision of more tenanted accommodation within the town centre, and the development and extension of the LOTS (living over shops) policy;
  • retention of a significant proportion of larger houses (some with gardens). We support the inclusion of Shrewsbury as an Historic Conservation Area, to enable owners of listed buildings to apply for grant aid;
  • improvement and greater promotion of the Market Hall, alongside an adequate range of provision merchants and professional services;
  • that the cleanliness and attractiveness of our streets, pavements and shuts be regarded as a priority;
  • support for the Community Safety Partnership community safety groups and initiatives to reduce crime and disorder;
  • the pro-active use of town centre CCTV with accepted statutory control measures.
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