Shrewsbury shopping centre development plans on display

The new development will link the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside centres

Plans for a £150m redevelopment of Shrewsbury's three main shopping centres have gone on display.

The designs, available in the Darwin Shopping Centre until Saturday, propose 60 new shops, including a department store and restaurants.

The scheme would link the Pride Hill, Darwin and Riverside complexes, bought last year by the UK Commercial Property Trust (UKPT) for £61m.

The developers hope the work will be completed in time for Christmas 2015.

Guy Shearer, of the Shearer Property Group (SPG) which represents UKPT, said: "The centre of the town has not seen any significant development for 20 years.

"The redevelopment and refurbishment of these three centres is well overdue."

The plans include a new department store for the revamped Riverside Centre

SPG Director Adam Markwell said the main area of development would be around the existing Riverside Centre and would connect the complexes with the River Severn.

"The idea will be to redevelop completely the Riverside area and to create a new scheme which links seamlessly into the Darwin and Pride Hill centres," he said.

David Roger, of Ignis Real Estate, also advising owners UKPT, said it was important to get feedback from local people.

He said the plans were important to "realise the potential for Shrewsbury and secure its long-term viability as a retail destination".

Ignis and SPG said they hoped to submit a planning application later this year and start work by the summer of 2013.