The future of Pride Hill Shopping Centre, Shrewsbury – an update
The current retail climate has meant that Shropshire Council has had to reassess the best uses for the Pride Hill Centre and to transform the Darwin Centre into the primary retail destination in Shrewsbury.
The council’s vision is for the Darwin Centre’s retail mix to evolve into more of a community-led shopping centre with more regional and independent stores, while retaining some popular national brands.
Plans are now moving ahead to repurpose the Pride Hill Centre, which will create more flexible town centre space for the future. Steps have been taken and discussions are underway to relocate several businesses to the Darwin Centre. Over time this will minimise on-going operational costs in the former Pride Hill space and pave the way for a new future for the building, though no decision has yet been made about the future use of the centre.
As part of this work we will soon be relocating a number of the Pride Hill Centre’s independent businesses to a new specially created trading space in the Darwin Centre called The Collective. Located in the former QVC unit, The Collective will become home to up to 10 independent stores who will benefit from the regular centre footfall and trading alongside established brands. There’s more information here.
Formal landlord negotiations are in progress to ensure all parties understand the repurposing intentions for the Pride Hill Centre.
Individual negotiations are underway with occupiers to manage the process of relocation and to ensure that they are kept up-to-date. These discussions are continuing and we will ensure that we allow our tenants the time that they need for these negotiations.
It is important that the Pride Hill Centre tenants are the first to know about our future plans and what it means for them, and that they hear it from us. This will continue to be the case.
Shropshire Council is offering flexible and favourable terms to independent and national brands relocating to the Darwin Centre from the Pride Hill Centre. All individual discussions are confidential.
We expect to have more news in the coming months regarding the timeline for the Pride Hill transformation. Currently we are focussing on relocating businesses from the Pride Hill Centre to the Darwin Centre.
By adapting and evolving the retail, leisure and lifestyle offer across Shrewsbury town centre we are developing a destination for the future which could include a wide variety of uses designed to encourage sustainable and commercially-successful businesses. This will encourage more footfall to the town and create relevant floorspace. All these actions benefit Shrewsbury town centre and make it a more vibrant and thriving town, which in turn improve the future value of the schemes.
