Park drainage work to cause traffic disruption

The new park should open in late autumn next year

Work to dig foundations for a new park is likely to mean some traffic delays next week.

Riverside Gardens is due to be built on the site of the former Riverside shopping centre in Shrewsbury and Shropshire Council said the park should open to the public in late autumn 2026.

But Richard Fielding, from contractors Morgan Sindall Construction, said: "There's a huge amount of groundwork that has to happen first to make it all possible."

He said the work included some "important drainage", with this aspect "absolutely critical for getting the infrastructure right so this park can handle everything from daily use to major community events".

To enable the drainage work to be carried out, a 200m (656ft) lane closure of Smithfield Road will be needed for up to five days, starting on Sunday.

The park is the first phase of a bigger regeneration of the former shopping centre site and preparatory work to clear it has already taken place.

The second phase of the regeneration project will involve the development of three plots located between Smithfield Road, Raven Meadows and the new park.

The Riverside centre and Shrewsbury's other two main shopping centres were bought by the council in 2018, in a £51m deal.