Shrewsbury and Atcham

"Our vision is that Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough will be a prosperous area, with Shrewsbury a leading County Town in the West Midlands where people value and enjoy an improving quality of life. We look forward to working with Government to deliver the growth needed to achieve these aims".

Councillor Peter Nutting, Leader of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.

The Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham lies in the centre of the County of Shropshire in the West Midlands region, with Shrewsbury being the County Town (population 67,000). The town has a particularly high quality environment and the town centre is within a meander of the River Severn, resulting in significant access and development issues for the town. The challenge for Shrewsbury is to achieve the economic and physical development that it requires as a sub-regional centre within the constraints of the town's unique form and historic character. The continuing development of an integrated transport strategy for the town is a critical element in meeting this challenge.

Delivering sustainable and managed growth requires a partnership between the Borough Council, Shropshire County Council, infrastructure providers and developers. Shrewsbury as a New Growth Point brings the exciting prospect of Government support to this partnership, subject to the statutory regional and local planning process, helping to tackle the significant issues faced by a historic town with a progressive approach to meeting its needs and fulfilling its role as a sub-regional focus for development.

Local partners' ambitions for the sustainable development of the town include:

delivering approximately 3,500 additional dwellings by 2016, 30 per cent above current Regional Spatial Strategy targets, to include 100 affordable dwellings per annum
bringing forward brownfield and new greenfield development sites through the Borough Local Development Framework, following detailed assessment of suitability and having regard to access and environmental considerations, including flood risk
implementing a package of transport measures to tackle access, traffic and air quality issues for the town and town centre in particular (currently the subject of a major assessment by Shropshire County Council through a Transport Innovation Fund Study)
improvements to the town centre, including major new retail development and town centre street enhancements
new business park development
tackling water resource, supply and treatment issues
major new educational, cultural and health facilities
protection, enhancement and extension of the town's green network

The scope to increase housing delivery after 2011 will be explored linked to assessment of needs and subject to the due processes of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy Revision and the Borough Local Development Framework preparation.

Levels of growth will be subject to comprehensive testing and public consultation through the regional and local planning processes to ensure that individual proposals are sustainable, acceptable environmentally and realistic in terms of infrastructure. For Shrewsbury future work will include using the findings of a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and a Water Cycle Study to inform decisions on levels and locations of growth and mitigation measures; working closely with Severn Trent Water and the Environment Agency to deliver water efficiency savings and ensure sufficient water resources are available to support growth; assessing and mitigating the impacts of growth on local habitats and enhancing them where possible; further work on green infrastructure provision, and working with the Department for Transport to assess the impacts of growth proposals on the transport network and to develop sustainable transport solutions.

Achieving these ambitions will depend on a range of public and private funding programmes, including developer contributions. Government is committing to work with local partners to achieve sustainable growth to get the best outcomes from this investment and to help overcome obstacles to delivery. In support of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council's growth ambitions Government is allocating around £200,000 in 2007-08 from the first year's funding pot, subject to detailed negotiation and appraisal. Future funding is dependent upon the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review in 2007.

For further information on proposals for Shrewsbury please contact Dave Wallace at Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council on 01743 281315 or by email dave.wallace@shrewsbury.gov.uk.

As a new Growth Point Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council's aim is to build around 3500 homes by 2016.