Plan for apartment block at Shrewsbury's Dana prison
A former visitors’ reception centre at Shrewsbury’s old prison could be demolished to make way for a new apartment block, if plans get the go-ahead.
Shrewsbury-based Morris & Co has applied to Shropshire Council for permission to build the block on land opposite The Dana, which, along with the visitors’ centre, also houses a car park.
Trevor Osborne owns the single-storey building and the Grade II listed prison. It is used occasionally as a tea room and ticket office for a company which offers tours of the prison. Last year Mr Osborne was given planning permission to transform the 141-year-old building into student accommodation, flats, a gym and walled garden.
It came after a protracted wrangle with the authority over consent, with previous proposals rejected by planners.
Now Morris & Co, via its London-based architects Panter Hudspith are looking to knock the dilapidated building down and put up in its place 10 new apartments which will have views across the river to Shrewsbury Castle. The block would be spread over four floors with two and three-bedroom properties.
The building would be ‘stepped down’ to an adjoining garden area, which is currently overgrown and it is hoped that the remaining garden area, which overlooks the river, would, in time, become a new public garden and park. Views of the prison would not be impacted and the building would actually enhance the area, say the applicants.
A design and access statement submitted to the council by the architects said: “The building helps to frame the Gatehouse when viewed from lower down Howard Street.
“A timber pergola defines the entrance to the building, but also identifies a private (residents only) route along the side of the building which leads to the landscaped space behind down towards the river edge. The trees in this area will be thinned and the whole area re-landscaped.”
The matter will now be discussed by the planning committee.
