New Shrewsbury Waitrose and garden centre plans on show

Garden & Leisure Ltd, Waitrose and Cranford Developments Ltd, will unveil to the public their plans for the redevelopment of the existing garden centre and new Waitrose store along with other retail units on Oteley Road.

The pre-planning application submission Public Consultation Exhibition will be held at The Percy Thrower Garden Centre (café area) today between 10.00am – 5.30pm and tomorrow 10.00am – 4.00pm.

The event will be staffed by representatives from Waitrose, Percy Thrower Garden Centre, Cranford Developments and the technical planning team.

The plans, which represent an investment of £40million, would see a larger Garden Centre increased from 48,000sq ft to 60,000sqft and a new Waitrose supermarket of 30,000sq ft, employing 200 people to complement its existing town centre Little Waitrose. A parade of 7 new retail / commercial units amounting to 7,000sq ft would also be developed on the site.

Parking provision for 582 cars and a new traffic light controlled junction from Oteley Road along with a new pedestrian crossing would also be made.

A sustainable energy centre on the site will help power the Waitrose store, with landscaping and public realm to include a new Percy Thrower Memorial Garden.

The proposal has evolved against the backdrop of the Shrewsbury South Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE) which is allocated in the Shropshire Core Strategy. The development would form the new Local Centre to support new housing and employment development. The proposal is evolving in such a way that it would represent Phase 1 of its delivery and has been designed and laid out in order to maximise connectivity to existing and proposed developments in the area.

Matt Parry of Cranford Developments said:

“This is an important development proposal and we want as many people as possible to come and see the plans and let us know what they think. We have been working on this proposal for some time now and we are very excited about it.”

Nigel Keen, Waitrose Director of Development commented:

“We have been looking for a site to accommodate a full-offer Waitrose supermarket and this is a great one. We’re delighted to be part of this development plan and the new store will complement our existing town centre store. We look forward to providing the full range of quality Waitrose goods and shopping experience to local people.”

John Moseley, Marketing Director of Garden & Leisure stated:

“This is a golden opportunity to invest in a larger Percy Thrower Garden Centre and provide an even bigger and better range of plants and garden goods to our loyal customers. To be part of a redevelopment plan that includes a Waitrose store is simply fantastic. We will trade well together.”