Last couple of days, a load of diggers and a demolition company have moved onto the site. Could the eyesore finally be being knocked down in preparation for homes?

Yes .read in the star "more affordable homes" on the way.......... ;)

I did my work experience there at the age of 14 (16 years ago now!) They were threatening to demolish it back then.

I hated every minute of it and I'm glad it's being razed to the ground... it seems somewhat cathartic for me :)

I'm pleased work is finally taking place, it will really tidy the area up.

What a difference the demolition of the Shropshire Lad and the old cattle market have made to the area around the Harlescott crossroads already. Finally we can see an improvement to the northern corridor into Shrewsbury town centre.

The real biggie though will be the Ditherington Flax Mill... if that EVER gets done up nicely I will be a very happy chappie.

Having watched of the progress if one can call it of the one timevillage of Scrobbesburh I am taking time to type say how sad it all is.

I have observed the town over some years and am dismayed by what you call progress with the building of dwellings that seem identical to one another and using your modern tounge hardly any room within then to 'swing a pussycat'.

People of Shrewsbury, I ask you, is the progress that men who take council for our town really making Scrobbesburh a nice place to dwell or are the men who plan only interesed in material wealth. I would say the latter. The Northern end of the town now seems to be only populated by traders who have vast buildings and even try to out do each other by the size of their shrines to extravagance and greed.

I seldom air my views on here but will turn in my grave when I see my once village destroyed by what one can only call selfish commercial greed

If you ask me, I think the rot really started to set in when the Bishop's Pool was drained. You knew where you were with bogs.

:blink:

'Oddskittikins' brother you have a dirty habit :( The only bog i recall is in the african jungles

Somehow I don't think that 70,000 people would all fit in your small village of wattle and daub caves.

Whilst I agree about the lack of quality or imagination involved in many modern housing developments it's worth remembering that most old victorian and earlier houses were much more overcrowded than the average house these days, it's just the biggest and best that tend to have survived until today.

Also nobody ever seems to complain about houses in areas like Cherry Orchard all looking the same (all the houses in the Royal Crescent in Bath look the same too but again nobody complains about that).

Personally i'd like modern houses to look modern rather than putting in fake half-timbered facades, leaded windows and mock-georgian styling but maybe i'm just strange??

As for the large out of town shops, it's the general public who shop there so I don't think it's fair just to blame the council, developments wouldn't get built if Joe Public didn't use them. The situation isn't that bad though, unlike many towns, Shrewsbury has a wealth of independent shops in the town centre where you can get most things if you don't want to use the big out of town developments.

My Dear Jonesy! Firstly can I correct you on your reference to a wattle and daub cave. A cave is of rock construction not wattle and daub which is man made! Shrewsbury indeed started as a small village and progression has taken over. I would have thought the population to date was closer to 99,000 people if not more currently.

I feel that when you say that nobody seems to complain about the general 'look' of houses this seems due to the total lack of consultation to the people you call joe public in the first place! Councillors authorise construction of these buildings and its not as if people were to complain after they had been constructed they would be torn down, is it ?

I am very pleased that the larger companies with their monstrous buildings cannot get into the town centre to trade and would encourage this healthier form of trading which is in the centre of the town today. My point was to ask do we really need these ugly americanised massive stores with totally wasted roof space. Big in my book is certainly not beautiful and to heat these buildings in the wintertime must be a total waste of energy for some of these properties and the environment as a whole. I am reasoning with realism and perhaps your analagy of building bigger houses may be able to take place if the commercial sector were not so greedy on floorspace!

GREAT! Somehow who I agree with on this forum.

I suggest to Charles Darwin,who could swing a fair number of moggies in his old home that he joins the Shrewsbury Civic Society if he wishes to 'attempt to influence the design of future building in Scrobbesburh.

BTW these massive stores are way more energy efficient than anything built more than 10 years ago.

Quality in design is what we should be demanding and saying NO to mediocre but our councillors are a pretty hopeless lot IMHO. :(

Sounds good to me. The nothern corridor has never been that good into shresbury town centre. ^_^

I was obviously referring to wattle and daub lining for the interior of caves, no self-respecting troglodyte would be seen without it but never mind ;)

As far as I know the population of Shrewsbury is about 70,000 while the population of Shrewsbury and Atcham borough as a whole is more like 100,000 but I will be happily corrected should anybody have accurate figures to hand.

As regards housing, it would seem that we agree, I was merely pointing out that 'all the houses looking the same in a develpment is not neccesarily a bad thing as per my example of the Royal Crescent in Bath. I would certainly be in favour of the council requiring more imaginative designs and better quality building in the housing it gives approval to and yes, I also agree that the general public doesn't seem to complain much becasue they are not really given much choice of styles and are not exposed to many different ideas about housing.

There are though a vocal minority whose insistence on everything being 'in-keeping' with the historic style of towns that much good modern design in domestic architecture is stifled. If the builders of previous centuries had to build everything 'in-keeping' with already existing buildings we would still be living in wattle and daub built huts!

As for big out of town sheds, their primary purpose is to sell big bulky goods cheaply and they do that as they easily seem to undercut most small town centre stores for these type of goods. If you are happy to pay more and frequent your local washing machine or hardware shop then that is good. I think the answer though is not to ban these big stores but to try and persuade the people who shop there that they can get better service and benefit the local economy more by shopping locally. Of course, the local shops also have to keep on their toes by offering a wide range of good quality products at good prices too.

Ultimately, people will spend their money in the way they perceive to be most beneficial to them as a whole.

Finally I would say that there is no shortage of land to be able to build bigger houses on, only 12% of the UK is developed. The constraint is an artificial one caused by planning regulations. The reason we have to pay so much for housing in this country is that supply is artificially restricted. For the time being there is plenty of brownfield land to be redeveloped but this won't always be the case. Personally I wouldn't mind a small encroachment into the greenbelt to provide extra housing, much agricultural land isn't particularly 'green' or full of nature anyway with all the pesticides and industrial techniques used these days. The existing homeowners though are too powerful and have a vested interest in restricting supply as they have an overpriced investment to protect. This only serves to constantly widen the gap though between the housing haves and the housing have-nots and can't continue forever in my opinion.

I think you are referring to the councillors on SABC planning committee! :D

Excluding NEV, where speed rather than well thought out decisions has taken precedence, our councillors always wave through Wimpeyfication but refer to buildings like Mansers Antiques as akin to a public toilet. It went on to receive a National Civic Trust Award in 2005, one of only 8 such awards in the whole country that year. One of the most coveted architectural awards to receive too.

This got a very brief mention in The Chronicle whereas we never stop hearing about Britain in Bloom Awards whether we get one or not! <_<

If Shrewsbury wishes to continue to attract visitors for its' architecture then the new developments of 'noddy houses' built around the railway station etc will make them stay on the train for Chester. thinking they have got the wrong place!

Demolition work continues at a good pace.

The disused petrol station - is that going? Or do contamination issues prevent it from being redeveloped into residential?

I would hope the petrol station will be removed; apartments now stand in Monkmoor where the old petrol station used to be.

I should imagine they just have to remove the old petrol storage tanks.

Shropshire Star:

http://www.shropshirestar.co.uk/2006/09/de...-for-new-homes/

200 homes... it's going to be a tight fit!

There is plenty of room.Take a walk down the farm track that is inbetween the filling station and the old canal and have a bit of a brivet.

s.g.d.

Well I suppose if few have gardens and those with gardens have very small ones...

(nothing wrong with that - just don't expect a new suburb)

Sorry to interrupt... but what's a brivet? I guess you mean 'a look'? I have a lot to learn. :huh:

hello Cloudscape

yes,to search or pry like a dog hunting,possibly from the Welsh - pryfeta

s.g.d.

If these new homes are anything like the Wimpey development on the Underdale site then our councillors need shooting. I have to say especially Councillor Price, who recently was the holder of a portfolio for better design and has not done anything to demand it for our town.

The demolition programme on C4 Saturday concentrated in the main, on larger black listed buildings but in the first programme last year identified housing that is continuing to be built as a failure for the future.
Developers have decided we want houses that look like vaguely period but with open plan interiors which in their wisdom entails an inadequately sized room serving as a kitchen , sitting room and dining area. Coupled with low ceilings. tiny bedrooms and no storage these are the legacy we leave future generations.

A good idea...

http://www.shropshirestar.co.uk/2006/10/pl...ry-power-lines/

Could do with many of our overhead power lines being put underground.

btw - note the sloppy Star at work once again. Councillor Chris Freestone is a lady, not a man... :rolleyes:

200 homes sounds like a lot to me. Is this the scale of new developments in Shrewsbury, or in Shropshire generally?

When you consider that Shrewsbury has over 30,000 houses, 200 isn't really a lot...

No, I suppose you're right. Although you'd expect the development to have a fair bit of local impact. I'm just concerned that by the time I get to wonderfully empty Shropshire, they'll have filled it up. :lol:

Shropshire is still a very rural county - if you're worried about counties "filling up" with development then don't go to Berkshire, Essex or Kent!! :o