Shrewsbury Big Town Plan 'outstanding', says taskforce
Shrewsbury's Big Town Plan has been held up as an "outstanding example" by a group focusing on revitalising high streets.
The town's long-term vision was recognised by the High Streets Task Force and was praised at a national webinar about the future of UK town centres.
Hayley Owen, growth programme and strategy manager at Shropshire Council, and member of the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partnership, was a speaker in front of an audience of more than 550 people.
Simon Quin, executive director of the High Streets Task Force, said Shrewsbury Big Town Plan was a beacon for others to follow on effective development of a collaborative vision for a town centre.
He said: “Shrewsbury is among a small number of outstanding examples of visions, which demonstrate why it is so important to have an agreed vision for a town or city.
“But these examples are the exception rather than the rule. You would think there would be many examples around the country, but we did some research a few years ago looking at visions that existed for towns and cities, and they are very hard to find.
“Visioning is not only important on a strategic level, but it is also now vital to secure funding, as a sound strategic vision is now required by the Government when considering funding distribution.
“It was great to have Hayley on our panel talking about the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan, which really does illustrate many of the principles that we think are important.”
For more information on Shrewsbury's Big Town Plan, visit the website at shrewsburybigtownplan.org.uk
