Shrewsbury Vision: facilitating a shared future

Shrewsbury is a recognised Growth Point with plans for 6,000 new homes plus new economic infrastructure by 2026. The changed relationships arising from local government reorganisation – whereby Shrewsbury now falls under the administration of the single tier Shropshire Council – provide an important opportunity to reflect among key parties on a Future Shrewsbury Vision.

The LDF planning process is working through Core Strategy Issues and Options Stage, with a view to proceeding to adoption around March 2011. Work has already been done by some of the local business community on thinking about the future, and there is a diverse range of aspirations for the future. Kevin Murray Associates were appointed by Shropshire Council to operate in a neutral, creative facilitation role – with a good knowledge of contemporary urbanism (supplied by WMUD) – to help explore, facilitate and develop an aspirational, yet consensual future Vision for Shrewsbury. This role is needed to work across different sectors and groups – and to do so in a manner that is fair and independent.

The study was carried out through a series of workshops, followed by the production of a Vision document that draws on the workshops and relates to contemporary good practice. The Vision document will feed into the LDF/Core Strategy process, and into the Masterplan Development Framework process for the town.