Next stage of Riverside demolition to begin this week

Demolition work progressing at the Smithfield Riverside site

Large equipment has been seen arriving in Shrewsbury town centre ahead of the crushing of concrete slabs and foundations across the Smithfield Riverside site, as the final phase of heavy demolition begins on Roushill.

This follows on from the removal of the two footbridges across Raven Meadows earlier in October.

This final stage of demolition is expected to last until the end of the year, with this first phase Smithfield Riverside regeneration which is fully funded by the UK Government, creating a new park running along Roushill in the new year.

Breaking the thick concrete slabs of the foundations of the shopping centre, nightclub and doctor’s surgery requires large hydraulic breakers, which will smash the concrete into chunks that can then be ground into reusable aggregate, and create an area ready for the creation of the new park.

Demolition specialists Cawarden expect this work will create some additional noise from the site, and that town centre residents can expect some disruption while these works take place, with this expected to take around 8 weeks.

In a change from previous parts of the demolition – at the request of residents – concrete-breaking works will only take place between 8am and 6pm Monday-Friday.

To ensure the safety of the public, Cawarden have carried out an independent noise and vibration impact assessment which confirms that, with the mitigation strategies and continuous monitoring in place, the demolition of the Riverside Shopping Centre will not exceed permitted levels.

For town centre residents and businesses affected by the works, Shropshire Council and Cawarden held a public drop-in session at Shropshire Local to answer any questions about the works.

For those who wish to see the demolition from a different angle, Shropshire Council’s webcam on the roof of The Darwin Centre has created a time-lapse of the demolition works, which can be viewed at www.smithfieldriverside.com.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council cabinet lead for Shrewsbury town centre’s regeneration, said:-

“I am sure people will be pleased to see the progress in preparing this part of the site and creating the new park, both fully funded by the Government.

“Inevitably it will mean some extra noise but together with our contractors, we’re doing what we can to minimise this as far as possible. Our thanks to everyone for their patience and understanding while this work progresses.”

The Council and Cawarden also encourage anyone with questions or concerns about the demolition to contact the site manager, Mick Whitehead, at m.whithead@cawarden.com.