Councillor makes prediction over Shropshire Council's new home

Councillor Alex Wagner, Lib Dem representative for Bowbrook, was speaking after Shropshire Council said it would be delivering an update on its headquarters at next month's full-council meeting.

The authority agreed to leave Shirehall earlier this year, but no timescale for the proposal has been confirmed.

The council has said it intends to build a new council HQ, to be shared with other agencies, as part of its redevelopment of the Riverside area of Shrewsbury.

But, with that site a long way off completion and the Guildhall in Frankwell being vacated by University Centre Shrewsbury and other organisation, Councillor Wagner said the council should make the obvious choice.

Guildhall was previously also home to Shrewsbury Town Council.

Councillor Wagner said: "The fiasco surrounding the move of University Centre Shrewsbury means that the obvious decision for Shropshire Council is now to move into the Guildhall and abandon wasteful £40m plans to build a new HQ on the Riverside."

The councillor has also offered his opinion on the future of Shirehall itself.

There has been considerable speculation over the fate of the site, with potential developers given freedom over would-be plans thanks to the government ensuring that the building could not be given listed status – which would prevent it being demolished.

But Councillor Wagner has urged the authority to embrace the opportunity of redeveloping the building rather than knocking it down.

He suggested the site could be re-imagined as flats.

He said: "There also has to be a discussion about the future of the Shirehall land. The real housing need in Shrewsbury is for young people looking at one and two bed affordable properties to buy and rent, especially flats.

"If the Shirehall must be sold to developers, that has to be a strong preference, not even more urban sprawl."

Speaking about its plans for the site earlier this week, a spokesman for Shropshire Council said: "We continue to work on proposals to vacate Shirehall and relocate to a new council headquarters in Shrewsbury town centre. A report is due to be presented to the meeting of full Council on September 26 to update councillors on the latest plans, and to ask them to approve next steps."